


Awake

by AutumnisPrime92



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: F/M, Human OC - Freeform, OC-centric, Relationships? Yes, Reuploaded from Fanfiction, Roughly follows movie plot, Slow hecking burn, This isn't good writing, you were warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2020-06-02 10:30:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 58,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19439632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnisPrime92/pseuds/AutumnisPrime92
Summary: REUPLOAD: It was supposed to be a simple hiking trip. I didn't expect to find an different alien species that was 20 ft tall and was a giant robot. But hey, when life hands you lemons, you smash them into the best lemonade ever created. I didn't ask to get kidnapped, and then thrust into an alien war. I especially didn't ask to find love. But I'm gonna make the best of it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I started writing this fanfic in 2013. That would put me squarely at 14 years old when I did. As things tend to do, this fic has not aged well in my opinion and I know that I can do 100% better. I do, however, have a reader or two that didn’t want the original copy destroyed. As much as I don’t enjoy my 2013 writing, I can respect that others do. I’ve opted to keep my original on AOOO and will rewrite my entire story on Fanfiction. If y’all hate this, don’t blame you in the slightest. I had to coax myself to read through it.

“Remind me again why we’re standing out here at 5 in the morning on a Saturday at our high schools parking lot, in November might I add?,” I asked. Katie, my best friend, groaned with exasperation, being fed up with my continuous complaints.  
“I told you, Dr.Short told us to be here at 5 A.M. sharp because we will be leaving at 5:10! Not to mention that you agreed to go on this hiking trip with me,” she explained for the 30th time. I took my iPhone out of my pocket and checked the time. It showed 5:17.   
“Don’t you just love when teachers tell you to be on time or else the bus will leave you, yet not even they can arrive on the scheduled departure time?,” I grumbled, adjusting the pack on my shoulders.  
“Sarcasm is unbecoming of you,” Katie mused.  
“It’s not sarcasm, its morning bitchiness,” I sighed. This is why I hated school trips. They always started way too early in the fucking morning. If I hadn’t let Katie’s dreaded puppy dog face get to me, I could be sleeping in right now. Not freezing my butt off in 27 degree weather, waiting for our biology teacher to arrive so we could get a move on. Katie, being the only one I knew here, and us both being the only juniors there, was also a pain in the ass. Now that I think about it, being surrounded by talkative, preppy, definitely morning people senior girls was too. Being a junior sucked. All you do is get reminded that after the year is over, you still have one more year of hell. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a good little student, but the high expectations everyone expects you to achieve is a killer. I thought high school was supposed to be about what you learned, not the letter a teacher thinks you deserve on a Finals.   
I was broken out of my self-rant by the sound of a car pulling up followed by a school bus. Everyone visibly cheered when a man in his mid-fifties with white hair, a Hawaiian shirt, and open toed sandals stepped out of a worn down jeep.  
Oh Dr. Short. You never cease to disappoint or amuse us.  
“Oh no, who let the bitch off her leash?”  
This day has just gotten fucking amazing. Of course Ashlynne had to come. Wouldn’t her teachers be so impressed that she went on a hiking trip during the weekend? It really didn’t help the fact that she was oh-so-popular, athletic, student council president, and homecoming queen. No one would ever suspect someone so “Perfect” to be the spawn of Satan himself. It’s amazing how far a grudge can be taken.   
Last year, Katie and I had attended an end-of-school party that was, according to the grapevine, supposed to be LEGENDARY. I guess by legendary they meant “People doing drugs, getting drunk and for the few ignoramuses, getting a scorching case of STDS”. Katie’s dad was in jail for drug charges, so she knew what happened to people who got hooked. We called the cops and hightailed our asses out of there. To many people, we were heroes, but to Ashlynne, whose boyfriend got arrested, then fired for the arrest, then broke up with her because he couldn’t afford to keep buying her things, we might as well have painted a target on our heads. She’s made our lives hell ever since.  
“I swear to God, the next chance I get, she’s gonna “accidentally” get pushed off a cliffside,” I said through gritted teeth.  
”Just ignore her, she’s just pissy because nobody has miraculously crawled on their knees begging to be her boyfriend yet,” she murmured with an annoyed look in her eyes.  
“Hey!” Devil Spawn shouted,” I was talking to you!” She grabbed my arm and spun me around so that we were face to face.  
“I’d prefer if you wouldn’t touch me, I don’t want to get AIDS,” I deadpanned. Ashlynne made a noise of outrage, and then proceeded to make the lamest comeback ever.  
“If anyone has AIDS, it’s you!”, she shrieked, her posse visibly cringing at how weak that sounded. She looked around for support, but her friend’s body language said it all. You got yourself into this; you’re on your own.  
She followed up with a venomous “Bitch!” before glaring sharp katanas at me.  
“Ashlynne! That is not the kind of language we use! Go to your whore corner, you’ve earned yourself a time out,” I exclaimed dramatically. She threw a temper tantrum of stomping feet and upset sounds before stalking off to her friends who were trying, rather successfully, to hold in their chuckles. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all.  
After a profuse apology on Dr. Short’s part about how he lost track of time and that he was still glad that we got here early and blah blah blah, we all boarded the bus, putting our daypacks in the back while everyone sat in the front or middle. Katie and I sat in the last row possible, considering we didn’t know anyone else that was here on this trip. Well, that we were on good speaking terms with, that is. Yeah, when people say that joining clubs gets you friends, that’s a big lie. It only gives you an excuse to smile at upperclassmen in the hallway like you knew them, even though you were only on first name basis. The real excitement started to finally kick in as we settled down while Dr. Short explained the safety rules that no one was really going to follow, me included.  
The Ecology Club was going on a hiking trip in a small rocky reservation down in southern Missouri. Let me tell you, St. Louis is a great city and all, but living in a small town 6 miles from it your whole life was boring….as…..shit. I lived for thrill, and climbing and hiking across rocks without safety gear or a guide? That was a no brainer. It was one of the main reasons I decided to come in the first place.  
As I felt the bus rumble under my seat as it departed from the parking lot, I pulled out my iPhone again and shuffled my music.  
“Isn’t this exciting, Jenny?” Katie chirped.  
“Going hiking, or riding the bus?” I ask smartly, smirking the whole time.  
“Smart ass,” she mutters under her breath. You make it way too easy, Kat. To my deep displeasure, everyone started to sing 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Oh come on, it hasn’t even been ten minutes yet! I put in my headphones and starting blasting the volume loud enough to drown out a jet. I really hope this bus ride doesn’t take too long. My sanity can take only so much.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a reminder, the following chapters are reuploads from when I wrote this back in like, 2014. I wanted to keep my old writing to serve as a reminder of how much I've grown since writing this. I haven't altered it in any way, so yeah, buckle up if you plan on reading the rest of this because it's pretty bad.

The bus ride ended up taking five  _ fucking hours. _ I really should've thought the math through. Of course it was going to take long if we left at 5 in the morning! Goddamn you, brain. You're supposed to be exceptionally awesome. I also believe that you should know of a certain…event..that happened during the bus ride 3 hours ago.

_ {:Flashback:} _

_ I had been sleeping for about two hours before someone's incessant prodding on my leg woke me up. _

" _ If you value your hand, and don't wish to have it ripped from your body, I suggest you stop immediately." They did just that. I groggily and very reluctantly got up from my comfortable pillow, which was Katie's lap. She had also dozed off and was leaning up against the window with her mouth slightly open. When I looked across the aisle, I saw a boy with tan skin, dirty blond hair, and hazel eyes. He was pretty muscular, like he spent his spare time lifting weights and doing pushups just for fun. Basically, he was the ideal arm candy. He would make good money going into the escort business. _

_ After my brief criticism, I looked back up at him and saw him smirking at me. Realization hit me like a fat guy sprinting for cake, and I remembered him from this morning's fiasco. He was one of Ashlynne's followers if I wasn't mistaken. _

I did NOT have time for this shit.

" _ What, in the name of all that is holy, is so frickin' important that you had to wake me up right this minute?" _

" _ Usually it's polite to tell someone good morning when they wake up," he said. That damn smirk was starting to piss me off. _

" _ Whoever said that can kiss my ass, now you have five seconds to tell me what you wanted to say before I forget that you even exist," I snapped. "5…4…3…". _

" _ Wait, wait, wait!", the mystery man exclaimed," I just wanted to say thank you!" Now this was intriguing. _

" _ Come again?" _

" _ I-I just wanted to say thank you for putting Ashlynne in her place. She really deserved it these past few months. Especially after how she's been treating you and your friend…", he trailed off. _

" _ Funny, I didn't see you sticking up for me and Katie when she dumped vinegar on us." Guilt crossed his face and he muttered a simple "sorry". Oh HELL no, he wasn't getting away that easily. _

" _ Or when she got one of her lackeys to put chewed up tobacco in our drinks. Or when she had another guy paint his hands pink and put them on our chests," I seethed. Me and Katie had to walk through the hallways with big handprints on our breasts and get laughed at by everyone. It did not amuse me. _

" _ Look, I really am sorry for all that she's done, okay? But she's been my friend since middle school, and has helped me through stuff. I'm not saying what she's done is right, far from it, but I can't just drop her as a friend!" _

" _ Sure you can. Go right up to her and say, "Sayonara bitch!". Problem solved. I can do it for you if you want," I reason, a little too eagerly at the last bit. He chuckled and said," Thanks but no thanks. Anyways, I am serious. I'm really sorry, and thanks for sticking it to her." I looked intensely at him, turning his words around in my head and decided that he was telling the truth. _

" _ You're welcome, I guess," I said, it coming out more as a question than a genuine statement. It was really weird seeing him like this. Usually whenever he was with Ashlynne he was so confident and cocky. Too cocky for my tastes. An uncomfortable silence sat there for a few minutes before he decided to break it. _

" _ My names Ryan," the newly named Ryan stated. He finished his miraculous statement with a charming smile that would've made most girls' hearts melt out of their mouths and cause comical hearts to appear in their eyes. I was not fooled so easily. His smile faltered a little when I didn't say anything in return, but he recovered quickly by asking," What's your name?" _

" _ Bilbo baggins." A miffed look crossed his face before it disappeared as quickly as it came. _

" _ No seriously." _

" _ Fine you got me. I'm actually Gandalf the Grey." Now he didn't bother to hide his irritation. _

" _ Look, could you not lie and just tell me your name," he huffed impatiently. In another dimension, I might've felt guilty for him, but this was too much goddamn fun. _

" _ Wow, nothing passes you, does it? You're right, you're right. I'm actually an eccentric amusement park builder/billionaire named John Hammond," I say excitedly. By now, Katie had woken herself up, and snorted in amusement at my antics. Ryan apparently didn't like being laughed at because he got this warning look in his eyes. _

" _ You have ten seconds to tell me your name before I call Ashlynne over here," he threatened. Now that caused us to raise our hackles and glare at him. Where the hell did apologetic Ryan go? Katie nudged my arm, and to my surprise, she had a mischievous smirk on her face. I instantly knew what she wanted me to do. Best Friend telepathy worked like that. Meanwhile, Ryan had started his countdown of the apocalypse. _

" _ 10.." Oh, here we go. _

" _ Alan Grant." _

" _ 9…" _

" _ Spongebob" _

" _ 8…" _

" _ Dora the Explorer" _

" _ 7…" _

" _ Gypsy Danger" _

" _ 6…" _

" _ Harry Potter" _

" _ 5…" _

" _ Spartacus" _

" _ 4…" _

" _ Achilles" _

" _ 3…" _

" _ Mr. Rogers" _

" _ 2…" _

" _ Abraham Lincoln" _

" **_1…_ ** _ " I put my face close to his with a dangerous intensity in my eyes. I was playing with fire, but I didn't care, so with the straightest poker face I could muster, I leaned in and very seriously said," Ronald McDonald." I expected him to get that creepy smile on his face that kind of said "I'm so glad you screwed up" and to go through with his plan and call Ashlynne over. I did not expect him to nearly asphyxiate when he started laughing so hard he fell out of his seat with Niagara Falls coming out of his eyes. _

" _ T-t-that was f-fucking beautif-ful!," he sputtered out before another uproar of laughter came out of his mouth. Katie was laughing too, but more so at Ryan's expense than at what I said. The entire bus was looking at us with weirded out expressions trying to figure out what was going on. Against my will, a smile bloomed on my face. I had just gained an acquaintance. _

_ {:End of long ass flashback:} _

That was three hours ago. The rest of the trip included him introducing us to his friends, them unsuccessfully trying to hit on us, and for the past two hours the girls and boys took turns singing what apparently were "popular" songs. I'd rather kill myself with a spork then listen to a poorly sung version of "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. Oh yeah, that shit was terrible.

Anyways, we had finally arrived at our destination. Man, I sound like that chick from the GPS. As soon as the bus doors opened, I grabbed my pack, rushed down the aisle, and headed out of the 37 foot long prison before anyone could twitter "WTF is that Cray Cray chick doing? #turn up". I began running laps in big circles yelling, "FREEDOM!". I was well aware of everyone gawking at me, but yet again, I didn't care. Story of my life, right?

Once everyone got off the bus, called us to attention and we all circled around him.

"Now I've already explained the safety rules to you guys, however there is something that needs to be called to attention. For safety reasons, we are assigning everyone into groups," announced.

"Whaaaaaat?!" I whined. "But that's not fair! A groups just gonna slow me down! Only Katie can keep up with me!" If you haven't discovered it yourself, you're an idiot, so let me make it easy on you. I rely on Katie a lot. She is the sister I never had and vice versa, so we tend to do everything together. She is also the only one I can tolerate and the only one who can comprehend my amazing level amounts of awesomeness.

"I understand everyone moves at different speeds, but like I said, its for safety reasons. We don't want anyone getting lost," he explained.

"But Dr. Short, you can't keep me cooped up like this! I am a peacock; you've got to let me fly!" I quote from  The Other Guys.  Everyone started snickering around me when they got the reference, except Ashlynne of course. Twilight would become interesting before the wicked bitch of the west caught herself laughing at one of my jokes. I kept arguing with Dr. Short, but he wasn't relenting, so I decided to make him a deal he couldn't refuse, and one I was thoroughly going to regret.

"Dr. Short, if you let me and Katie go on our own…I'll write an essay about the importance of trees with your choice of word count," I grumble, straining to get the words out. I swore I saw a neon sign above his head flashing "WINNER, WINNER".

"I want it on my desk Monday morning with 2000 words. Alright everyone, Group A will start with…"

I zoned off when he started listing off peoples names. Katie saddled up beside me and gave me a smug look. "Paybacks a bitch, ain't it?"

"Shut up."

"I don't understand why you're mad."

I didn't have homework this weekend until now."

"Not my problem," she says in a sing song voice. I shove her playfully and we start trekking off after the group towards our actual hiking site. After 10 minutes, we came to an area with high rockfaces, cliffs, and places just perfect to climb and get blisters. I was jumping up and down in excitement like a pedophile at a Chuck E. Cheese's.

"Okay everybody, explore! Find wonderment in the natural world," Dr. Short proclaimed excitedly. His announcement reminded me of Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo. Katie and I didn't have to be told twice. We spent most of our afternoon exhausting our limbs from pulling up our body weight. We were lying down on a sunny cliffside and I finally took the time to take in the surroundings. The trees were a rainbow of color, hues of orange, red, yellow, and brown mingling together as far as the eye could see. It was getting dark what with daylight savings time and all, so with the sun prolonging its goodbyes, the sky lit up with the most vibrant pinks, violets, and oranges I had ever seen. In the words of Forrest Gump, I couldn't tell where Earth started and heaven stopped, it was so beautiful. There was a gentle breeze that cooled my sweaty face and caused the trees' branches to sway. It was so peacef-

"SNAKE!".

Fuck you, universe. Fuck  _ you _ .

Me and Katie snapped to our feet and scrambled down the cliff as fast as we could and ran to where the commotion was. What we saw there confused and enlightened me at the same time. Dr. Short was on the ground consoling a hysterical Ashlynne with mascara tears cutting paths down her face. Seriously, who wears makeup on a hiking trip? I put on my imaginary Sherlock Holmes cap and observed the crime scene.

Ashlynne's leg had two small puncture wounds in it. There were a few reptile nerds combing through a book about what venomous snakes inhabited southern Missouri. And last but not least, there was a 3 foot snake writhing underneath some guy's shoe. Oh hell no.

"What the hell do you think you're doing," I yell at the man. Everyone looks at me like I've gone nuts. Pft, too late for that.

"Whaddya mean? This damn snake just bit my girlfriend, and I'm going to honor her by killing the freak," he yells back. Oh this poor fool. She had him ensnared in her traps. Cue reptile nerds snapping their heads towards him with outraged looks and simultaneously cussing him out and calling him a variety of synonyms for murderer. I decided to join in on the fun, sue me.

"This is a Broad-banded water snake! It's non venomous and only inhabits southeastern Missouri, a place we happen to be! I find it highly unlikely that it just decided to bite her. Even snakes wouldn't want to sink their fangs into that," I hiss(no pun intended), quivering with outrage. Everyone stops what they're doing and stares at me.

"What?," I ask defensively.

"Jenny, how'd you know that?," asked another retile nerd in admiration. I shrug and simply answer," I want to be a paleontologist when I grow up. Loving reptiles just comes with the job." Instantly, the reptile nerds look at me like I'm their long lost queen. That's right, bow down before me, bitches.

I push the jerk off the snake and it wraps its coils around my leg. I coo at it lovingly, and bend down so I can pick it up. It releases my leg so it can wrap around my arm instead. Everyone tries to get closer to it to try to touch it, but it hisses at them and tightens around my arm almost painfully. I stroke its back and it instantly relaxed, making me sigh in relief.

"Jenny, I hope you realize you can't keep that snake," Dr. Short cautiously says.

"I know," I reply, not taking my eyes off my new found comrade.

"Well we have to head back to the bus to patch up Ashlynne's leg and to get everybody home, so you kinda have to release it now," he explains. That got Ashlynne riled up.

"RELEASE IT?! WHY NOT JUST KILL IT? It BIT me! I'll have its entire species wiped out for what it did to me! My dad's a lawyer, he can make it happen. And how fitting for a freak of nature like that hideous snake to take a liking to someone like you," Ashlynne screeched. That girl. Had said. Fucking enough.

"Ashlynne, if you wish to live until tomorrow I suggest you shut your goddamn mouth. You're a waste of space that gives no useful function to the homosapien species. If you so much as utter one more idiotic word out of your whore mouth, I will make what that velociraptor did to Mr. Arnold from Jurassic Park look like a tea party. Are we clear?," I growl lowly with unhidden fury lacing my words. Ashlynne paled whiter than an Irish ghost, and bolted towards the bus with the rest of her friends close on her heels.

"Well that was….something," Dr. Short said, obviously confused to the ongoing drama between me and her. Katie was brimming with tears of uncontrollable pride and happiness. For once, I felt great. But alas, all good things come to an end. A sound of something roaring and fastly approaching came from overhead. We all looked up and saw two huge meteors coming our way. To say I was scared shitless would've been the understatement of the century.

"HIT THE DECK," Ryan screamed and we all did just that. It sounded like they zoomed right over our heads, and when they crashed, it came with a deafening explosion. I faintly heard Katie scream in my dazed phase, until adrenaline pumped through my veins and I snapped immediately to attention. Dr. Short was getting everyone to run to the bus. I love how now I decide to remember the snake is still in my hands. That gets me an idea.

"Dr. Short, I have to get rid of him!," I yell gesturing to the reptilian in my hands.

"Have you lost your mind? Wait, don't answer that. We have to get out of here  **NOW** !," he yells back.

" Look, I can't bring a snake on the bus! Safety first, right?" He seemed to be in a fierce struggle with himself before he relented and showed me ten of his fingers which was the term for "ten minutes and get your ass back here!". I thanked him, and dragged Katie along with me. We ran in the direction of the explosion and Katie whispered," We're not getting rid of that snake are we?"

"Nope!"

"We're checking out the meteors?"

"Yup!"

"Awesome!"

We kept running and ignored the protests of our abused legs and lungs. We saw the scorch marks getting more and more intense until we happened upon a crater. We could not believe what we were seeing. Out of the crater stood two massive, silver, metal looking beings. They seemed to be arguing with each other in a strange dialect. Me and Katie closed our agape mouths and looked at each other.

"Holy shit," we breathe at the same time. We did not take into effect that the giant looking robot things might be able to hear us. They both ceased arguing and looked at us first with shock, then surprise, then curiosity.

"Sunny, are those humans?"

"Don't call me that slagger! And I don't know sides, we are on planet Earth. Earth is the home of Humans. What do you think?"

"Sarcastic fragger. Man, that landing hurts like slag!"

In retrospect, I really should learn when to shut my mouth.

"Well considering you just landed on rocky area at high speeds and velocity going through Earth's atmosphere, I would assume that pain would be present," I blurt before clamping my mouth shut.

"Oh ha ha. You're so funny," one of the two deadpanned.

"It comes with the package," Katie blurted like me before clamping her mouth shut too. Both robots grinned I'm guessing.

"I like these two. Say, you wouldn't by any chance know where we are would you," the other one asked.

Me and Katie shared a look and we both recited at the same time," North America, United States, Southern Missouri, November 9th".

They both nodded in appreciation and then looked at each other like they were having a silent conversation. They turned back to us, and the one that had asked before hesitantly asked," Do you know who Optimus Prime is?"

"Optimus wha?"

"Well, I tried," he said to the fairly silent comrade. Sometimes I hate how unobservant I am, because the snake in my hands decided to nip at my hands to get my tight grip to relent. I gave it an apologetic look and loosed my hold, causing it to wrap loosely around my neck and nuzzle in the crook of my neck.

"What's that," unnamed iron giant asked.

"A snake. It's one of the animals that inhabits Earth as well as humans," Katie explained.

"It's freaky looking," Robot #2 bluntly put it. Not sure how much I like that one. In fact, I'm tired of giving them nonsensical names.

"Hey, we have a question for you guys," I shout up at them.

"What," the same alien who insulted my snake asked.

"Whats your guys' names?" The nicer alien grinned and pointed to himself.

"The name's Sideswipe."


	3. Chapter 3

"Sideswipe," I let the name roll off my tongue. The newly pronounced sideswipe grinned even more and he pointed to his friend.

"And that fragger over there is my twin, Sunny." Let me correct myself. He pointed to his  _ brother. _

"I said don't call me that, glitch head!" Sunny snapped. He hit his brother over the head, causing sideswipe to cry out in indignance. "And if anyone's the fragger, it's you," Sunny muttered. Katie appeared to become very hesitant about what she was about to do, but she steeled herself and asked," If sunny's not your name, what is?"

"What's it to you, fleshy?" he asked coldly. Now if there is something Katie will not abide by, it's rudeness, human or alien be damned.

"On Earth, when people meet, it's custom for them to trade names. I would think that an alien species would recognize manners when it sees it," she gritted through her teeth. Sunny looked remotely surprised that an insignificant human just stood her ground against him, but after he registered the insult, the surprise quickly turned into anger. The glare he bestowed upon her was deadlier than a pissed off hulk. Sideswipe was trying to smother his laughter, and failing. To my growing pride, Katie didn't back down. Hell, she didn't even flinch! She just stared right back. After what seemed like forever, Sunny resumed his emotionless mask and simply said, "Sunstreaker".

"Wow sunny. Not even a breem and you already have such a warm welcoming," sideswipe snickered. Another dent was added to his head. Not a second later we heard our names being faintly called. Katie and I's heads snapped to the where the source was coming from and we both panicked. We could NOT let the club see them. Can you imagine the mass hysteria? Not fun.

"We…we gotta go," I tell them, me and Katie already inching away.

"Aww, but you just got here!"

"Good riddance."

"Can you at least tell us your names?"

"Why would they give us their names, we're probably never gonna see the squishes again anyway."

"Yeah, but what about what that human said about manners or whatever. Earth customs, right?"

"Our names are Jenny and Katie, now we've really got to go!" I shout, pointing to the respective owners of the names while becoming highly anxious to get back to the group before they find our little discovery. "We will continue this little chit chat in the future!" Oh, if only I knew how those words would affect me. Me and Katie dashed away before they could say anything else, and headed towards the voices.

We almost collided with Dr. Short and a few other students who looked like they were about to piss themselves.

"What the heck have you been doing? I thought I said get rid of the snake?!" Dr. Short yelled at me. I swear, I have the memory of a dyslexic goldfish. I pretty much shook the snake off my shoulders and it slowly began to slither off. When the search party turned their backs to run back to the bus, I picked the snake back up and put it in my day bag that had miraculously stayed on my shoulders, but was shredded and torn to fucking bits. Honestly, it looked like a tiger had pounced on me and the pack saved my life. Don't ask me why I did it, I still don't have the answer. I took off in a sprint after the others, and the site that rewarded me made me stop dead in my tracks and almost face plant in the dirt.

Police cars were everywhere, as well as a couple fire trucks and I'm pretty sure I saw a S.W.A.T truck and….was there a semi here? The hell was a semi doing here? It didn't even have a trailer with it. Did I already tell the universe to fuck off? I did. I hope you die in a hole, universe.

A guy that looked like he wanted everyone to think he was in charge, but clearly wasn't, announced in a loud voice," Alright, clear the area! I need everyone to come with us back to civilization so we can clean this mess up! You, girl, with the shit-looking backpack, that includes you! Let's move it, people!" Well, that was uncalled for. A thought occurred to me while I was standing there watching officers put up yellow tape and herding classmates into police car like cattle, except the cows were wearing handcuffs. How did they get here so fast? It had barely been 20 minutes! And even if someone called the cops, the nearest town was about 2 hours away. Did…did they know this was going to happen?

I guess I wasn't moving fast enough, because two guys came up to me and grabbed my arms in a rough hold while dragging me to a car. I was struggling to get out of their grip, but then I saw who was in the car already.  _ Ashlynne. _ If the Popo thought I was trouble before, they probably wanted to shoot me now. I began thrashing violently, digging my heels into the dirt, and telling them to let me go. I accidentally crashed my head against one of the men holding me and he swore.

That's when the taser was pulled out.

He pulled it out and warned me," If you don't stop right now, you'll be nothing but a convulsing mess on the floor." Way to put it in a nice perspective, copper. I immediately froze, not wanting to get electrocuted, and they began dragging me again to my impending doom. The handcuffs were snapped on and they shoved me in the car. Ashlynne just completely ignored my presence, visibly shaking in anger and ranting how pissed her lawyer dad was going to be when they found out how they treated her with "disrespect" and "forcefulness". Honey, they're police officers. They can't be buddy buddy with everyone.

I had to lean forward so as not to smash my backpack, and I rested my head on the back of the passenger seat. As we drove off, the last thing I saw was a black GMC Topkick pulling up and a white guy jumping out of the driver seat. How was I going to explain this to my parents?

~Time skip~

I was sitting alone in the interrogation room, and I knew exactly why. They wanted to know if we saw anything. I was pretty sure it was taking a long time because everyone else told them how Katie and I were gone for ten minutes. Goddamn squealers. On the outside I put up a façade of calmness, but on the inside, I was going apeshit crazy. Do I tell them? Do I not tell them? What'll happen if I do? Will they arrest me? Will they put me in an insane asylum? Will they kill me? The last thought shook me out of my stupor. This was absolute insanity. I'm not even sure if I was hallucinating or not. Yeah, that's it. I was totally panicked after the meteors crashed and I thought I saw two giant alien metallic beings whose names were Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and they were twin brothers. That was too detailed to be a hallucination.

But what about Katie? What if she tells? What if she incudes me in the story? No, she wouldn't do that. Best friends don't do that. Wait, if she was there and talking to aliens, then they weren't hallucinations! Oh my God. We just met  _ aliens _ . The answer to the biggest question of the universe! What if they were here to take over the world? But sideswipe was so nice… What if the government found them? They'd kill them. 100% definitely. I've lived long enough to witness that humans don't like different. Or worse, they'd experiment on them. My resolve came then to not tell the police anything. I might be a bitch, but I'm not cruel. I just hope Katie thinks the same.

The door swung open, and in came a man with a three piece suit, sunglasses, a five o'clock shadow and yellowed teeth from too much coffee. So to sum up, a real douche. He set a folder on the hard metal table and began reading it aloud to me.

"Jennifer Rose Acadia, age 16, junior at Belleville East High school, good grades, no discipline reports, but repeated complaints against a Miss Ashlynne Parker, is that correct?" I nod.

"Mind telling me why the continued reports?" Hey, I have a question, mind telling me where the hell this is going?

"She continuously harassed and bullied me and a friend for the duration of the school year,  _ sir _ ," I say shortly.

"That friend was a certain Kathleen Allison Carr, am I correct?" Another nod awarded him.

"Sir, if I may, why is this relevant?" Never let it be said that I didn't have manners. All the time.

"Ashlynne happens to be my niece and is the sweetest girl anyone would have the pleasure of meeting," he hissed. Ah, so it's a personal vendetta he's after. Well if opinions are going to be thrown around, might as well let mine be heard.

"With all due respect,  _ sir _ , your  _ niece _ is by far the most malicious, spoiled, brattiest, anorexic, cruella Deville, fucking annoying stain on this Earth." If looks could kill, I'd be more dead then Kenny from South Park. It also appeared that he couldn't say anything back because:

I was only 16

Freedom of speech and we were in a POLICE STATION

He had more important things to discuss

"Why don't you tell me why you and Kathleen ran off after the crash," he asked with a victorious smug look on his face.

"I had to release a snake into a secure habitat, not next to students who were causing pandemonium with their screaming and running and possibly harming the snake in the process," I explain like one would to a child.

"If all you had to do was release a snake, why'd it take so long that a search team went out for you guys?" Same smug smirk, same restraint not to punch him in his stupid sunglasses.

"There were scorch marks everywhere and it might've burned the snake. Besides, smoke inhalation isn't good." I lied through my teeth.

"Did you see the meteors?"

"No."

"Did you see anything else?"

"No."

"You meant to tell me that you didn't see what landed?"

"Yes." My answers clearly frustrated him. I'd be too; if I didn't get the answers I wanted.

"Was there something I should've been looking for," I ask pretending to be confused. If they let me go, I'm so signing up for theatre.

"No! No. You are free to go, your parents are waiting," he mumbled, not wanting to see me running around in the free world. Come at me, bro. Come at me. The minute I stepped out of the room, I was crushed in blindsiding hug that I'm pretty sure could rival that of a Grizzly bear.

"I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU! IHEARD ABOUT THE METEORS AND YOU WERE THERE WHEN THEY CRASHED AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE HURT AND THE POLICE CALLED AND SAID YOU WERE HERE AND I WAS SO SCARED! DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN, JENNIFER!" Oh yeah. Forgot about my mom. That woman's gonna be the death of me.

"Hey, mom," I reply, smiling weakly. She immediately began fussing over me, looking over every inch of my body for injuries.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? How many fingers am I holding up? Have you had any water? Why aren't you answering my questions," she blabbered in a rushed voice.

"Mom, calm your tits. It's just a few bumps and bruises, nothing I can't handle," I reassure her.

"Jen, what did I say about language?" There's the mother I was waiting for. After signing paperwork and finding my pack which someone had so graciously thrown away, we got in the car and drove home. The car ride was mostly mom ranting about meteorologists being idiots and no more hiking trips from now on and trying to find the chance of meteors striking our house. Maybe she should go to the insane asylum.

"Jen, honey, I'm gonna make tea," she yelled from the kitchen as I made my way up the stairs. I yelled my acknowledgment back and shut the door. All the events from today hit me like a tidal wave, and I collapsed on the floor going through every emotion one goes through after meeting robots.

Hysteria.

Panic.

Disbelief.

Shock.

Amazement.

And finally, confusion. What the hell was I gonna do now? Keep a big secret for the rest of my life? I groggily got up, and went to the mirror. Holy shit. My hair was an absolute mess, leaves and small twigs tangled in it. Sweat and grime covered the exposed parts of my skin, and my hands were covered with raw blisters. I had a nasty scratch on my arm when the impact sent a rock with a sharp edge hurling backwards. My legs looked like they got in a fight with a horde of angry compsognathus, and lost. Other than that, I looked like a person you wouldn't want to stumble into on the streets at night. My entire body was begging me to sleep, my mind included, and I heartily agreed. I took the longest shower in the history of showers, combed the rat nest I called my hair out, and decided to cautiously look inside the backpack. How that snake is still alive is beyond me. I took out an old aquarium tank, put the leaves and twigs I took out of my hair into the tank, and put the snake into the makeshift cage. After researching it, I found out it was actually a HE. I'll have to call the vet later. I walked over to my bed and let gravity do its thing. As sleep took over me, the last image in my head was of the two brothers grinning at me.


	4. Chapter 4

"Jenny? Come on sweetheart, it's time to get up," I hear a voice say gently. I feel someone softly shaking my shoulders to try to rouse me from my slumber. They really shouldn't try, because when I sleep, I am out like a light. The soothing words to coax me to get up and shaking of my limp corpse went on for a few minutes. It quickly escalated to," JENNIFER GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THAT BED OR SO HELP ME GOD I WILL SLAP FIRE FROM YOU!" and having the covers ripped off of me, casting light and a chill over my exhaust-filled body. I made a noise that sounded like a groan, but didn't sound like it came from a 16 year old girl.

"UggggghhhhhharghflappahhhhhBACON," I quickly state, smelling the heavenly meat waft from downstairs. I'm so glad its Sunday. That means its breakfast gorge day. Ever since Mom and Dad got divorced, she needed something to distract her mind from splitting up her possessions. She decided to take up cooking. She got  _ really _ good at it, too. Now Sunday has become my favorite day because it includes four of my favorite things:

Eating

Syrup

Pancakes

And  **bacon**

It was almost like one of those moments in cartoons where people follow the visible scent trail with their eyes closed and somehow find their way to food. I staggered out of bed, gave a half-hearted wave to the snake, and stumbled down the stairs. I say stumbled. I actually mean I tripped on myself and ended up skiing down the stairs with my face.

"Mother. Fucker," I manage to painfully ground out. I tentatively touched my face and winced when I felt my forehead. That little sucker is gonna be one nasty bruise. I finally make it to the kitchen and there they were. Big, round, succulent, mouth-watering, juicy-

"I made waffles." See what I did there? I yawned a thank you and began concocting my masterpiece. "It's nice of you to finally join the living at 10:30 A.M." I plead the fifth, I was exhausted. Physically and mentally. "I saw that snake in your room, Jen." I froze. Shit. Really need to start thinking these things through.

"Yeah it's a... it's a Broad-Banded Water Snake. Non-venomous," I state slowly, still placing the sacred sustenance on my plate.

"Lemme guess, you're gonna ask to keep it?" Her back was turned to me since she was preoccupied with dishes, so I couldn't see her face as she spoke.

"Actually I was going to call a vet or something this morning so that they could take care of it." I heard a dish clatter against the sink and my mom cursed under her breath as she examined a new chip in her fine china. Deeming it acceptable, she turned to me with a surprised look on her face.

"Seriously? Since when have you not wanted to have a snake? You love reptiles! You even want to be a pathologist when you grow up!"

"Paleontologist," I correct," and it's not like you would let me keep it in the first place. I'm used to disappointment," I mumble the last part quietly. Mom's gaze softened and she put an arm around my shoulders.

"Honey, I'm sure dad is just busy. He probably just accidentally forgot about your volleyball banquet." See that? That's denial at its finest.

"Oh yeah, just like how I'm sure he forgot about picking me up from school, or calling me on my birthday, or the fact that he has a daughter," I growl bitterly. Yeah, you see  _ that _ ? That's rejection at its finest.

"Look Jen," my mom sighed," Don't be upset at him please? Because than I want to phone him and call him a heartless prick." Besides Katie, she's the only one who knew how to make me smile when I'm down. She smiled back and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Now eat up! Katie called earlier and said she wanted you to visit her later." I almost choked on my bacon. Now that would be a pleasant way to die. Bacon is like God's bookmark. My mom frowned at me and said in that Mom-Is-Concerned voice," are you alright?" The worlds been asking me that since I discovered what sugar was. I smiled and shook it off like it was nothing.

"I'm fine." Said no emotionally distressed teenager ever, wink wink. Seriously, never believe that line. Of course, my mom didn't believe me, but she let it drop. I knew what she was doing, and vice versa. We were avoiding the huge elephant in the room. No, his name is not Dumbo. She looked like she was about to burst, she wanted to ask the question so bad. I sighed and started," Mom,-

"What happened," she blurted out, trying to say it casually. There is nothing casual about asking your daughter what happened when she experienced a near-death situation and was persistently questioned by the police about if she saw anything.

"They told me I'm not allowed to talk about it," I nervously say, keeping my eyes away from her face.

"Oh come on, I'll be quiet! I won't say a word!" Wow, she looked like one of those girls that wanted to know all the details about a brutal breakup. I snorted," Law breaker." She gave me a look that screamed  _ like you can talk. _ Ten minutes later, I told her everything except the meeting with the twins. That is what I seriously need to go to Katie's house for. My mom looked satisfied and promised to zip her lip. I went upstairs and went to go look acceptable for society.

~Later at Katie's house~

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T TELL THE POLICE?! WE DISCOVERED  _ ALIENS,  _ JENNY! ALIENS! HOW IS THAT NOT SOMETHING THAT NATIONAL HOME SECURITY SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT?" She had been ranting for a good ten minutes now, and I had heard enough of this shit.

"Kat, shut your damn mouth and listen!" She did as she was told. Thank god. "Now, we can't tell them because what would happen to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker if the military found them?" I spoke to her like an elementary teacher. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked down to the floor.

"They'd be killed," she murmured quietly.

"Or?"

"Experimented on."

"Good girl. Give yourself a pat on the back." She simply scowled at me and I smirked in return. Suddenly she looked scared.

"What if the military already knows? What if they're already dead? What if they come looking for us? What if they arrest us for not telling them? Oh god, oh god-"

"Katie, get a fucking hold of yourself!" I shout. I'm so glad her mom decided to go for a grocery run. "Look, that's not gonna happen. If so, they would've come by now. It doesn't take long to find files, foot prints, and put two and two together to realize what we found. Nor does it take long to find out where we live, file an arrest warrant, and then drive over here." Actually I was lying. Since me and Katie weren't in the police system, they'd have to find us by actually getting our school files and that would require looking through thousands of kids and then finding ours, and THEN filing the arrest warrant and driving to our houses to arrest us. But I was trying to reassure a friend, so that means saying whatever she wants to hear until she feels better. I kid of course. After a while, she began to think rationally and pinkie promised me that she wouldn't tell a soul. Yeah, she pinkie promised me. That shit is more legit than Snape's unbreakable vow. We just stood there silently until Katie broke the silence.

"Big Bang theory marathon?"

"Bitchin'!"

~Elsewhere~

"What the frag do you mean you met two humans?!"

"Calm down, Hatchet, they were-"CLANG.

"OW!"

"Fraghead! Do you realize what you might've done? You could've revealed us! Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Insert clang sound here.

"Calm down, Ratchet. Please allow the twins to explain before you hit them with a wrench again."

"Thank you! Now, we didn't mean to, they just kinda found us. They were actually pretty funny. I don't think they liked Sunny all that much though."

"Don't call me that, fragger!"

"Anyways, they pretty much just told us where we were and they told us their names."

"You mean you  _ asked _ what they're names were."

"Fine. Yes, I asked what they're names were. Happy?"

"No."

"What were they're names?"

"Jenny and Katie."

"Major Lennox?"

"We did find two girls on the field trip named Jennifer Acadia and Katie Carr. I think those are our witnesses, Optimus."

"Acknowledged. Prowl, what do you think we should do regarding the human femmes?"

"It depends on what Sideswipe and Sunstreaker told them."

"Well, we just told them our designations."

"Fair enough. However, too much is at risk. I believe an appropriate course of action would be for the Twins to find these girls and bring them back to base to make sure they will not make our presence known to the public.

"Wait, why do we have to get the squishies?!"

"Because they'll trust a more familiar person than a random soldier."

"But what if they touch my paint?"

"Mech up, slagger! Also, this will have to wait until tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Because you both have check-ups to do."

"Slag. Why do you look so evi- Hatchet, I'm gonna have to ask you to put the wrench down." Insert yet again another Clang sound here.

~Time skip and back to the main characters setting~

The whole meteor crashing story was supposed to be a complete secret, so naturally, the whole school knows. It's all anyone could talk about when we went to biology class. Dr. Short gave up on trying to teach and decided to join in the conversation, trying to keep it scientific of course. But wait. There's more! Remember all those people who tattle-taled on us about being gone? I guess that means it's everyones business, so everyone came up to us trying to pry the truth out of us. The funniest rumor I heard was that the meteors were aliens and I was helping them escape. I couldn't hold it in, it was too funny. That was basically school in a nutshell. Ashlynne wasn't here, she was actually overreacting to a measly snake bite and was in the hospital. I have no words.

Katie and I were in the parking lot when I stopped. I reached out my hand to stop Katie, and when she looked at me I simply pointed. In our schools parking lot were two of the most gorgeous Lamborghinis I have ever seen. Red and yellow, absolutely perfect, the kind of car you drool over and wish you could marry. Before I realized it I was walking over to them as if I was in a trance.

"Jen, what are you doing? We can't stop to look at pretty cars, we have to go home. It's colder than that glare Sunny gave me. I can't believe I stood up to him. I can't believe he didn't step on me! The nerve I have sometimes…" While she mumbled on, I was steadily creeping closer to the pieces of art. That is until a man stepped out of the red one. I can't help but admit that my eyes found it delightful.

He was lean with muscles prominently sticking out in all the right places. He had black skinny jeans and red Vans. He had on a red shirt with a weird face looking symbol on it and, surprise surprise, a red jacket. I looked at the symbol again. It was strangely familiar. His hair was black with red highlights and his eyes were an astonishing bright blue. All in all, he was mmm-mmm good. The only problem was that he was looking at me. Crap.

"Jenny!" That voice. It couldn't be. Fuck no. It was not them! I looked back at the symbol and it was like a slap in the face. I  _ had _ seen it before. Well, shit. I stared at him slack jawed with bugged out eyes. It couldn't be, they weren't humans!

"S-Sideswipe?!" I squeak. He smiled happily, pleased I remembered his name.

"Hey you remembered us! Sunny, get out here, fragger! You're number one fan is here to see you," he sniggered. Katie had appeared by my side and was just as shocked as I was. The minute Sunny appeared, seemingly out of thin air, she eeped and hid behind me. Smooth, Katie. Real smooth. The looked identitcal to Sideswipe except some facial features, and just replace everything I said was red with yellow. He simply scowled at us and turned away his face away.

"He's still pissed at what she said. Don't worry, he'll get over it. Hopefully."

"Just shut up and tell them."

"Oh yeah! We need you guys to come with us!" I'm sorry, your call has not been reached, please redial or try again later.

"W-Wait what? What? You need us to- How the hell did you guys even find us? Why did you find us?! How the fuck do you guys even look like humans?" I may or may not be a little stressed out right now.

"Well, you guys were easy to locate, you leave fingerprints all over the internet. These are just holoforms. A solid form for us to blend in with your society. And weren't you the one that said we would continue this little chit chat in the future," he asked, smirking. Damn, he really pulls that off.

"Answer. The damn. Question."

"Relax, princess. We just need you to come with us back to base so your leaders know that you won't tell anyone about us! You didn't, did you?"

"No! And our military knows about you guys? Wait, are there more of you? Has our government been keeping this a secret?" I said it once, and I'll say it again. I need to learn to shut my mouth. Sideswipe glanced at his twin cautiously, and said," It's not really our place to tell you that. If you come with us, you'll get all the answers you want." It was like he was one of those girl scouts that are really persistent in trying to sell you their thin mints.

"What about our mom's? They don't know any of this! We can't just leave!"

"Everything will be taken care of," he soothed. There was a part of me that really wanted to trust him, to throw caution into the wind and take the hand that he was currently offering to me. Another part of me just wanted to be closer to him, because damn he was fine. And another part of me wanted to politely decline his offer. I looked at his hand apprehensively, then up to his eyes. Man, those were breathtaking. Katie secretly pulled on the back of my shirt. I turned my head so she could whisper in my ear, the twins staring at us the whole time.

"What if it's a trap?" She had a valid point. Of course, they were pretty laidback aliens. But it could be a rouse. And there was no way in hell I was risking Katie's safety.

"When I say go, you ready?" She nodded and I turned back to them.

"I'm sorry for the trouble you went through to find us, but we need to  _ go _ ," I say sweetly, before sprinting off the other way with Katie on my heels. We faintly heard a "Frag!" and then engines revving loudly before getting closer. We had gotten to the end of the street and we turned into a narrow street. Not once did we slow down, the adrenaline rushing through our veins. Footsteps met my ears, and they sounded surprisingly close. Cheaters.

"Kat, move your ass!"

"Don't you yell at me, Miss I-walk-the-mile-in-Gym!" If we weren't trying to conserve on breath, I'd laugh. Suddenly, a body collided with me and knocked me down. I hit my head on the ground and hissed in pain. When I opened my eyes, a slightly blurry Sunstreaker was over me holding me down.

"You're fast," he panted. A small teasing smirk graced his lips and he slightly leaned in. "But we're faster."

"Don't think we're down for the count yet," I chuckle, before head-butting him. Hard. He let go of me and held his head, growling with pain. With all the strength I could muster, I pushed him off me and quickly got up before he could grab me again. I kicked Sideswipe off of Katie who was struggling to hold her down with all her thrashing, and lifted her up, running at a quick pace yet again. I felt a thin trail of blood go down my face, but I pushed the thought aside. We had to lose them.

"Jenny!" I look over to Katie who was gesturing towards the left in front of us.  _ Main Street _ . Perfect. It was always crowded on that street. You could easily get lost in the bustle. We looked behind us, and lo and behold, the twins were closing fast. We turned left and hid in the awaiting crowd as fast as we could. I lost track of Katie. I bumped into a lot of people, them muttering stuff about stupid kids, but I found what I was looking for. It was a small store, something nobody would ever go in unless they were curious. It was perfect. I ducked in and hid behind a shelf of…books? Shit, we were in a manga store.  _ Oooh, Fairy tale… _ FOCUS! I saw the door open and in came Katie looking around frantically. I motioned her over and she hid with me.

"Are they looking for us, Kat?"

"What do you think?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I saw them going up the street when I came in. I thought they saw me."

"Shhh, here they come." We sat still and looked through the gap of books to towards the door. I saw sunny look skeptically at the sign, but he shrugged and kept walking with his brother, scanning the streets for us. As soon as they passed, we ran out the door and back the way we came. We didn't stop until we reached my house and collapsed on the floor in my bedroom.

"I swear to Jebus, if I hear any more crap about not exercising enough, I'm gonna punch the person who said it in the face," breathed Katie, Her chest heaving as outrageously as mine. We spent 5 minutes catching our breath. Five. No wonder the obesity level is so high.

"Hey, is that the same snake?" I looked over to him and replied," Yup."

"I thought you called the vet so they could take him?"

"Couldn't do it."

"Souvenir?"

"Hell yeah." We simply stared at him and Katie said," If you think about it, he's the one who started it all." Another valid point, Madame. I thought about it and said, "You're right." More silence. My face slowly started to form a grin.

"I'm sort of glad I decided to wake up that morning."

"Me too." We sat there again, but a thought came up that I knew we both were thinking.

_ I hope those two don't stop looking for us. _


	5. Chapter 5

"Put your head between your knees!"

"Oh Dr. Grant! My dear Dr. Sattler. Welcome, to Jurassic Park." I was watching my comfort movie, Jurassic park. It always helped me clear my mind when I had a lot on my plate. My plate consisted of a huge universal secret that was currently looking for us. My mom had gone ballistic when she saw the cut on my head and blood on my face; she demanded to know who she needed to kill for hurting her baby. I decided to use the cliché "I tripped and fell" excuse on her. Of course, she didn't believe me, but she thought it was one of those things where if she gave me space I would talk to her about it. Whatever works for you, Mom.

She patched me up without a word and was currently downstairs watching the lifetime channel. Katie, on the other hand, was otherwise preoccupied. She was busy giving her fingers carpal tunnels syndrome whilst frantically searching up any information about robotic aliens that she could get her hands on. So far, the only thing she had come up with was a conspiracy site about an attack at Mission City. How interesting. Her incessant tapping away on the keyboard was irritating, and she was interrupting Mr. DNA.

"Katie, can't you give it a rest for now?"

"Absolutely not! There are more of them out there, Jen. Aliens just like Sideswipe and Sunstreaker! If our leaders know all about them, then I believe it is also my right to know more about them as well!"

"Fine, but if your hacking skills give me a virus on my laptop, I won't hesitate to drop kick you."

"Yeah yeah, hold up….Jenny, come look at this!" Groaning, I pulled myself reluctantly away from the baby velociraptor hatching and sidled up by Katie to look at the screen. It was very…strange. Weird looking symbols scattered all over, moving as if on their own accord. Katie's fingers moved in a blur of motion and like a magic trick the symbols began to decode themselves.

"What's an allspark?"

"Who's Megatron?"

"The hell is a decepticon?"

"What's so important about the Laurentian Abyss?" Suddenly, the symbols stilled, and the screen began to look like a seizure victim. It changed from white to black rapidly, electronic codes coming and going before I could even blink and Katie swore vehemently.

"Damn it all to hell! Their firewall caught me and its treating me like I'm a virus!"

"Meaning?!"

"It's trying to shut down the laptop and counterattack it instead! The thing is that it's fucking working! It's blocked me out and stealing a whole lot of data at the same time." The screen stopped spazzing out, and went pure white. We just stared at it, not knowing what to do. I heard a sound, and realized it was coming from the headphones that were plugged in. We both put one in each ear and listened intently. What we heard was a mixture of white noise, electronic sounds, and the dialect we heard the twins speak when we first met them. Katie and I could do nothing but stare, utterly shocked as to what was happening. Right before the laptop went completely pitch black, I could've sworn I heard a broken up sentence that said," Capture humans." I shakily got off the bed and turned the T.V. off. I slowly turned to Katie and hesitantly spoke.

"Katie. What. The fuck. Was that?"

"I don't know Jenny. I don't know. But whatever it was, I don't think it wanted us to snoop around. I've never seen a defensive firewall like that in my life. I don't even think that's humanly possible! It hacked into your computer in less than a minute! While forcing me out at the same time." It was obvious she was freaking out. Second time in one day, that's a new record. I processed the information and took in a shaky breath.

"So, now what?"

"Like I said, I don't know. But if you had homework, you won't be doing it now. Your laptop's dead, bro."

"Shit! I still have that paper for Dr. Short to write!"

"We also seem to have left our book bags back in that alley." Oh yeah. In the struggle, our backpacks seemed to have found a way off our bodies and we completely forgot about them.

"Do we really have to go back out there," Katie asked fearfully.

"Yes. Don't worry, they probably got tired of looking for us by now," I tried to soothe back. She reluctantly agreed and we tentatively walked downstairs and out the front door.

And quickly ran back inside in the house.

"It's cold as a mother out there," I chatter through my teeth, shivering. We ingeniously put on our coats, and after a second thought, grabbed some flashlights and a baseball bat. Fear me, bitch. We went back outside and bravely started walking. Every sound made us jump, and our eyes were darting back and forth, looking for any sign of red or yellow. After what seemed like years, we made it to the alley. It looked way more evil than it did during the day. Our backpacks were right where we left them. In foresight, that should've struck me as suspicious. But considering I just wanted to get off the streets, I didn't give it another thought. Katie and I quickly walked to the bags and reached down to grab them. That is, until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Did you really think you could run from us that easily?" Oh give me a fucking break, universe! What did I do to you to deserve this torment! I was acutely aware of the baseball bat in my hand, and I'm ashamed to say that I panicked. I swung that damn thing as hard as I could behind me. To my horror, the bat was caught and wrenched out of my hands. Son of a bitch just stole my bat.

"Now now, princess, no need for violence. We're just to here to negotiate," Sideswipe spoke before throwing the bat aside with a clang reverberating off the walls. His brother walked up by his side and both crossed their arms across their chest. I knew that if we ran, we wouldn't get away this time.

"Jenny?" I turned to Katie and her face had a look of miffed frustration and annoyance.

"Yeah?"

"I know you don't want me to tell you I told you so. But I so fucking told you so."

"How was I supposed to know they'd still be out here?"

"I believe you were the one to say, and I quote, "Don't worry, they probably got tired of looking for us by now!"

"Don't worry, we have a lot of endurance." Damn that smirk of his. "Honestly, why'd you run away from us? You must've known it would be pointless." Katie huddled next to me and I protectively put an arm around her shoulder.

"How do I know you guys aren't lying to us? Why should we trust you?" Good job, brain. Those are excellent questions! Brain: Your welcome, master.

"Look squishy," Sunstreaker sighed," If we wanted to kill you, I would've done so by now. I wouldn't be wasting my time freezing my aft off out here and having random fleshies touch my paint." Ah, so other people did give in to the temptation. Something stupid inside of me decided to come out and play. That stupid thing I call Defiance.

"Look Sunshine, my name is Jenny, not Squishy." His bored expression quickly turned into one of anger, and he growled," Don't call me that." I grew even bolder.

"What's stopping me, sunflower?" His growl turned more menacing and he slowly started stalking towards me. His brother quickly followed suit.

"I said don't call me that!"

"Noooo, you said don't call you sunshine. I called you sunflower. Would you prefer Sunny? I hear Sideswipe call you that a lot." His growl turned into a snarl and he enunciated each word with a step towards us.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." Sideswipe's smirk that I was convinced was permanently etched into his face grew wicked as he inched closer alongside Sunstreaker. Me and Katie backed up, trying to keep distance between us. I think I may be a bad influence, but Katie picked up my game right up where I left off.

"Sunny, sunshine, sunflower, sunny boy, sunlight, Sunny D!" She was shaking with barely controllable giggles and wide shit-eating grins were plastered on our faces. The grins were quickly wiped off when our backs hit the wall. Fuck. They quickly closed the gap and we were overpowered with the aura of rage emanating from Sunstreaker. Katie was right, that glare was terrifying. And his sights were set right on me. Double fuck.

It quickly morphed into a smile that would make the Joker shiver.

"I said," he placed his hands on my wrists and gripped them like steel.

"Don't." One arm slammed above my head pinned.

"Call." There goes the other arm.

"Me." The same treatment was done to Katie by Sideswipe, but being done a bit gentler.

"That." He had leaned in to tower over me, making me feel smaller than I already was. That was his mistake.

"You sure you want me to head-butt you again, because I'm all for it." That made him lean back apprehensively away from me. That was his mistake #2. I used my head to push his chest away from me, causing his grip to slip, and I took the opportunity to thrash until my arms became free. The distraction had caught Sideswipes attention, and Katie used that to her advantage as well, using my trick before and head-butting him. I'm so proud of you, Katie. You've come so far. We ran about 5 feet before we were again, tackled to the ground. This time however, Sideswipe was the one pinning me down to the ground.

"Well, aren't you a feisty one? I don't understand why you won't just come with us."

"Well maybe if you got off me, I would consider your proposition!" Seriously, this guy was hefty, despite his lean look.

"I don't know, I like this position. It makes sure that you don't try to run off again." I was deliberately ignoring the dirty part of my mind that came up at the beginning of his sentence, but it was near damn impossible not to blush. Pleasant warmth spread across my cheeks and Sideswipe smiled cheekily at me.

"I won't run away again, trust me!" He seemed to ponder it and he bared more weight down on me.

"Promise?"

"Promise!" He got up and I gasped for breath. Sunstreaker had long since let Katie up, not wanting to have skin contact longer than necessary.

"So, you gonna come willingly with us to your military or are we going to have to take you by force?" I had to bite my tongue not to make a that's-what-she-said joke. Sideswipe had again, extended his hand towards me, eyeing me with those intense blue eyes. I looked towards Katie, and she could only offer me a helpless look and a shrug. Your advice means so much to me too. After what seemed like forever, I gradually reached my hand out to his. Right before our hands made contact, both twins stiffened and their optics dimmed. They brightened seconds later, and Sunstreaker snapped to attention. "Decepticons!"

"What good timing they have." Sideswipe grasped my hand and tugged me sharply towards him. My chest hit his, and he smirked down at me.

"You might want to hold on." Before I knew it, he had hefted me up on his shoulder and was running towards the two Lamborghini's parked at the end of the street. How did we not see those? I yelped and clung onto his back desperately, because the ground did not look welcoming at all. I looked up and Katie didn't seem to be faring well either.

"I swear to god, next chance I get I'm punching you in the face." I got laughter as my reply.

"You can try, princess, but I doubt you'll succeed." I was placed inside the passenger seat of the red lambo, and what I thought was Sideswipe disappeared in a shower of fizzles. I decided not to comment on it. Now, this may just be me, but I'm starting to think that Sideswipe was the car. No, he was definitely the car. The engine roared to life and he sped off, Sunny following closely behind.

"Now just to be clear," the radio turned on and sideswipes voice filtered through," You guys wouldn't have anything to do with Decepticons being in this area would you?"

"The name sounds extremely familiar." What, did you expect me to outright confess that we possibly hacked into an aliens computer? If they even had a computer? A chuckle sounded and was followed by," How in Primus' name do you even manage to get yourself in these situations?"

"Well, when I see two meteors crash into the Earth and they turn out to be alien robots, shit happens. What are you guys anyway?"

"We are sentient mechanical beings from the plant Cybertron. But you can call us Autobots for short."

"Autobots. What's a decepticon?"

"Slagging fraggers who want to take over your world and rule it in tyranny."

"So basically, you're the good guys?"

"Yup." We drove in silence for a few minutes and it grew uncomfortable.

"Where's Katie?"

"In Sunny." Again, I had to bite my tongue. Too easy, Sideswipe, too easy.

"Hey, Sideswipe?"

"Sides."

"What?"

"Just call me sides."

"Oh, okay, uh, Sides? Is it possible for me to talk to Katie?

"Why?"

"Just do it please. She's probably freaking the fuck out right now." He snorted at my language and replied," Let's see how Sunny's feeling." He messed around with the radio until he spoke," Hey sunny?"

"Don't call me that. What?"

"Jen wants to talk to Katie."

"And I care why?"

"Just do it, afthead." A growl was a response until I heard a faint," Jennifer?"

I gave a weak smile and said," Hey Kat. How you doing?"

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HOW AM I DOING? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?! WE ARE RIDING INSIDE ALIENS TOWARDS GOD KNOWS WHERE WITH OUR MOMS NOT KNOWING WHERE WE ARE, AND YOU ASK ME HOW I'M  _ DOING?! _ " I winced at how loud she was and sides quickly turned down the volume. He snickered and said," She sounds pissed."

"Kat, do me a favor, and calm the hell down. I don't think Sunn- I mean Sunstreaker likes you yelling."

"You're slagging right I don't." Sides abruptly pulled off towards the side of the road and opened my door.

"Get out and run towards the forest!"

"What?"

"Just hurry!" I got out and saw what the big deal was. A police car with words "to punish and enslave" on it and a red sports car were speeding towards us. Sides transformed and I stood in awe, eyes raking across the form that had dulled in my memory. Sunny had pulled over and transformed too, Katie running towards me.

"Barricade and Knock Out," Sunny growled in evil delight. "This is gonna be fun."

"Run, now. We'll come after you later." I hope they make good on their promise. Katie and I sprinted off towards the trees, their thick branches immersing us in their camouflage. We stumbled over roots and objects unseen to our eyes in the dark, and our breath fogged over causing us to look like cigarette smokers. We could hear yelling and loud sounds of metal against metal clashing in the air, but we didn't stop. My lungs were heaving painfully, trying to force cool air through my blood system. We had almost reached the ends of the trees when the sound of a jet came from overhead. We looked up, and an F-22 transformed midair and landed in front us, causing us to fly backwards. I hit a tree and groaned in pain. That was going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow.

I saw a symbol that to me looked like a dog and was purple; causing me to believe this was a decepticon. If that didn't give it away, the blood red eyes sure did. A malicious smile stretched on its face and it spoke whilst walking towards us. Now, when I say spoke, I mean screeched.

"You humans are pesty things! Shoving your disgusting faceplates where they don't belong! You wanted to know about us so bad, well here we are! And what a treat, giving us the Twins to annihilate. Capturing you will give us information on the Autobots, information we so desperately need!" This may just be me, but I don't think he knows that we only met the twins 2 days ago.

He snatched us up in his clawed hands and made it painfully tight. I heard Katie cry out in pain and I was struggling to breath. He simply laughed at our misfortune and squeezed tighter. I couldn't hold it in and I screamed out in agony. Katie's mouth was open in a silent scream. Suddenly, an explosion to our right caused the decepticon to hurtle forward, hence causing him to drop us and fall. All 20 feet down to the ground. I remember screaming and hitting something metal before my head collided with the ground and I blacked out.

~Time Skip~

"-uffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder. The other femme has also suffered a concussion as well as a sprained wrist. They're lucky nothing more critical happened."

"Would whoever is talking please shut the fuck up. People are trying to sleep." I told you, I am not pleasant when it comes to being woken up. The man harrumphed and shined a light into my eyes.

"Oh, you're awake. Would you mind following this light please?" I did as he told me to do.

"Good. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm just fucking peaches and cream over here," I groan. Everywhere was thoroughly sore, and my shoulder felt like shit. I also had a pounding headache. "Where am I?"

"I can answer that." A man in his mid-thirties with a slight buzz cut and facial hair came into view. By his side was a black guy with a bald head and stunning white teeth. "Let me introduce ourselves. My name's Major William Lennox and this is Sergeant Robert Epps. You're in a classified secret military base and we need to know what you know." I blinked at him and replied," Are you guys the people Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were talkin' about?" The doctor snorted and muttered," Fragheads." They stiffened and immediately relaxed. "That we are Ma'am."

"Jenny. Just call me Jenny. Ma'am makes me sound like an adult, which I'm not." They smiled and helped me up off the medical bed. I stretched and regretted it immediately as my shoulder burned in pain. Guess I really did dislocate my shoulder. The doctor looked at me disapprovingly and pulled out something that caused tingles to run through my body. He looked satisfied with whatever just happened and went back to whatever it doctors do. I looked around and started to ask," Where…?"

"Don't worry your friend's fine. She's busted up as well, but not as bad as you. We can take you to her if you want." I nodded eagerly, and I stood up before my legs gave out. They steadied me and Lennox gave me a wary look.

"You sure you're okay?" I shoved him off in a gesture to show I was fine and stood up by myself on shaky legs. The doctor gave me some water and told me not to strain myself. I think his coat had the name Ratchet on it. We made our way out of the room and walked down multiple hallways until we came into a  _ huge _ hangar. My eyes bugged out of my skull and I could hear Epps and Lennox chuckle at my expression. Katie was right. There  _ were _ more Autobots. They were all going about their business, but my eyes caught on the tallest one of all. He just gave off an aura of leadership and respect. He was blue with a flame paintjob and a face that looked like someone you could trust, someone like Gandalf.

I saw Katie up on a balcony the moment she spotted me. She broke out in a grin and yelled," Jenny!" It caught everyone's attention, including the 'bots. I went with the flow and broke out into a run. She ran down the stairs and barreled into me with a bone crushing hug that I returned with vigor. Relief nestled on me with the fact that she was okay in my mind.

"Don't you ever freak me out like that again, Kat! You hear me?"

"Aww, bonding moment!" I looked up to see Sideswipe grinning down at us, Sunstreaker not too far away smirking. I glared at him and smiled sweetly.

"Oh Sideswipe. Would you mind turning on your holoform for me?" He stiffened and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Why?"

"I just need to talk to you face to face for a minute."

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No, you're gonna punch me in the face. This face is too perfect to be harmed."

"Arrogant asshole."

"Stubborn glitch."

"Sideswipe, that's enough antagonizing the human femme," A voice boomed. I looked over to the tall Autobot and he smiled at us. I looked back to Sideswipe and he murmured," We'll finish this later."

"Challenge accepted." We both grinned at each other and I turned back to who I assumed was the leader. He kneeled down to us and spoke gently," Greetings Jennifer Acadia, Kathleen Carr. My name is Optimus Prime. Welcome to Diego Garcia."


	6. Chapter 6

So after like, 2 hours or so of Optimus and Major Lennox explaining the whole shpeal about the war on Cybertron and the Allspark, The battle at Mission City( Whoa Déjà vu), the infamous Sam Witwicky who we sadly couldn't meet because he was finishing up his senior year in high school, introductions to most of the bots on base, and explaining to military personnel about how we hacked into something that the Decepticons clearly didn't like and that's why they decided to try and capture us, Sideswipe took it upon himself to give Katie and I the royal tour of the base. Technically he just snatched us up and wheeled off before anyone could protest. We were introduced to the mess hall, training grounds, firing range, sleeping corridors, Med bay which we had already seen, and last but not least was the Rec room. I couldn't have kept my jaw closed even if I wanted to.

Now when I begin to describe the room, just picture everything I say Cybertronian-sized. The Rec Room consisted of couches that looked like it could hold three Cybertronians at a time, a Flat screen T.V., Xbox, DVD player, coffee table, Foosball table, Ps4, Wii, and a multitude of video games. So basically, I was in the ideal man cave. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Sideswipe smirking at my reaction, as well as Katie's because she was probably mirroring me right now.

"So yeah, this is the Rec room where 'bots come to relax or just hang out. The humans have their own rec room since the size of everything is pretty overwhelming for them, plus they have trouble getting up on the couches. That's our next stop, actually." I merely nodded my head in affirmation before we were off again in a befuddling combination of different halls and various turns. A few minutes later and voila, we were in a more comfortable environment that was more suitable to our human-like stature. Sideswipe finally let us down off of his hand and we ran around and explored. No, seriously, we literally ran around.

"This room is absolutely amazing!" Katie shouted from across the room. I was busy going through all the games they had. My heart stopped when I saw Mario Kart. I could get used to this lifestyle. That thought brought along another thought that made me panic. Where was my mom? Where did she think I was? Did Decepticons go after her too? Was she okay? Was she tearing up St. Louis screaming bloody murder looking for her lost child? I turned to Katie. Who was busy jumping on the couch like an idiot.

"Kat, we need to talk to Lennox." It was like gravity went up a couple notches because she stood completely still on the couch now.

"But why?" Katie whined.

"We need to know the wellbeing of our female nurturers!" I could see the guilt cross her face when she realized that after having so much fun, she forgot to take into account that her mom might be deathly worried for her. We turned to the doorway where Sideswipe last was only to greet an empty space. The son of a bitch left us!

"Do you know how to get back to the main hangar?"

"Not a fucking clue." They should really invest in making some maps like they do at Disneyworld so that you don't get lost. We shrugged and set off in the way that we think we came. We didn't take into account that a 3 minute skate for a 'bot would be 10 minutes for us. We asked for directions along the way, but there were so many lefts we had to follow that we lost track and ended up getting more lost. Eventually, we miraculously found our way to the Medbay. Deciding it couldn't hurt, we walked in through the doors.

Only to have a wrench thrown at our heads.

"Jesus Christ!" I yell, dodging the metal tool of doom that would've put me in a coma. We look over to find an irritated looking yellow bot that didn't at all look sorry for throwing a wrench at us.

"Oh, my apologies. I thought it was going to be those pit-spawned twins, or the other pit-spawned twins. You're the two humans that I still haven't properly released from my Medbay. Get over here so I can scan you and be done with it." To say we were hesitant would be the understatement of the century. It took another threatening wrench held overhead to make us slowly approach who we were informed was the medic of the Autobots, Ratchet. He offered his hand and we climbed aboard before he dropped us off on a shiny medical table. A tingly feeling went through me, almost like when your foot falls asleep and then it gets all sensitive and every time you touch it, it tickles. It was over as soon as it started and Ratchet made a grumbling noise before announcing," Your muscle tissue that was torn when you dislocated your shoulder is recuperating at a slow pace, but recuperating none the same. Don't strain that arm for two weeks, and if you feel pain tell me at once. Now you on the other hand," he turned to Katie and she gulped," Same thing goes for you. Your wrist needs to rest to help it heal, so no activities that will require it to do more work than it absolutely needs to." I couldn't help but think about what she's gonna do when she has to take her Finals and she can't use a pencil. Speaking of which…

"Hey, do you know where we might be able to find Major Lennox? We need to talk to him about something."

"I presume you're referring to when you'll be able to return back to your homes or when you'll be able to contact your parental units?"

"Um. I'm gonna go with yes."

"Hmph, if I remember correctly he should be in the Main Hangar with Optimus discussing details about, well you two."

"Do you think you could take us to him?"

"For Primus sake, I'm a doctor, not an escort!" I let out a slow frustrated sigh and carefully asked," Could you give us directions?" He simply gave us what were called data pads and told us to follow the map that was displayed on the screen. You can't be fucking serious. It could've been this simple? After we mumbled our thanks and left with him calling after us to see him in a week for a checkup, we weaved our way through the base until we came upon the same site where we had just been about an hour ago. Amazing how time flies.

We saw Lennox up on the balcony with Epps talking to Optimus and Katie called up to him.

"Hope we're not interrupting, but we need to talk to you." They waved us up and we climbed the stairs up to where they were.

"What can I help you girls with?" asked Lennox.

"We want to know if our moms aren't freaking out and wondering where their precious babies are."

"I'm afraid the situation is a bit complicated. We have reason to believe the Decepticons are after you, so we can't just let you walk out of this base unprotected. And we don't use phones here because they're too easily tracked."

"Okay, well if that's the case then why can't you just send us with one of the bot's to guard us while we drive over there?"

"Because we're not on U.S. soil anymore." I slowly looked away from Lennox over to Optimus.

"Where exactly is Diego Garcia?"

"South of the equator in the central Indian ocean." Well fuck.

"So you're basically keeping us here, is that it?"

"Not entirely. We just can't afford to risk your safety nor your parents if the Decepticons were to find you. You will see your mothers again, I can promise you that, and in the meantime we'll try to contact them and explain this as best we can, but for now you two are just...just...-", he seemed to be having trouble finding the words so Epps helped him out.

"Under Witness Protection?"

"Yeah, that's it." Katie decided to intervene and become part of the conversation.

"It's not just our parents. What about school, our lives, I have a part-time job, what about that? Finals are coming up, we can't miss those! Just how long do we have to stay here?" Oh Kat, you're so responsible it hurts. Again, Lennox tried to calm her down by promising us that everything would be taken care of and that they would sort things out. It took a little persuading, but when Optimus came into the picture she finally relented. He just has that power to make people do that. Like Gandalf.

"I could call this kidnapping if I wanted to," she mumbled.

"But we're not completely unwilling hostages because we saw that Rec room, and oh my goodness. Is this where our taxpayer dollars are going? Because as long as I get to play the Xbox I completely approve." Both men laughed and after a few minutes going over details about the base's schedule and when we're allowed off base and what we can and can't do, we soon were being led to where we would be staying indefinitely. It was one room with two double sized beds, a bathroom, T.V., and a walk-in closet. It was quaint, and just needed some decoration. With a reminder that dinner was at 6 and a challenge by Epps at Grand Theft Auto, Will, as he had us call him, and Epps left, leaving us at our own disposal. There was only one thing that was on my mind right now and wouldn't go away.

_ Nap Time. _


	7. Chapter 7

I was awoken by the sound of incessant knocking.

_ Knock knock knock.  _ "Katie and Jenny?"

_ Knock knock knock. " _ Katie and Jenny?"

_ Knock knock knock.  _ "Katie and Jenny?"

"What do you want, Epps?" I groaned tiredly.

"Dinner's being served and it's spaghetti. Teenagers like spaghetti, right?"

I strained against the massive force that was holding me down called gravity, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I stood up, stretched, cursed at the pain in my shoulder from yet again my stupidity of doing that, and cracked my back, sighing softly in relief from the loud pops emitting from my spine.

"Jenny, don't do that. It's gross to listen to." Katie mumbled into her pillow. I popped my knuckles and neck just to spite her. She shuddered and threw the pillow at me, which I easily caught. I threw it back and ripped the covers off of her slumbering figure. Harsh? Maybe.

"C'mon, get up. You and I both need sustenance. And a shower." I wrinkled my nose in disgust when I caught a whiff of my shirt. I suppose 24 hours of running and wandering around a base will make you pretty sweaty. I looked around for some sign that we had clothes other than ones on us and decided to look in the dresser. What I found was a standard black tank-top and cargo pants that was suspiciously my size. Hell, it's better than nothing.

"Can't I sleep for like, 27 more hours before I get up again?" Now, my patience is like a soufflé. You have to be very, very delicate with it and if you slip up once, it will be ruined. Hence me dragging Katie from the bed and pulling her to the bathroom.

"Take a shower and get dressed! You have clothes in the other dresser, and I am hungrier than a Dementor who wants to suck out Harry Potter's soul, so hurry up!" I scowl irritably.

"Yes,  _ Mom _ ." She mumbled sarcastically. I shoved her head playfully, and proceeded to absently look around the room as she closed the door. What day was it even? Let's see, Sides and Sunny found us on a Monday, and we woke up today earlier this morning, took a nap, and it's still today, so it's Tuesday. Huh.

I was interrupted from my extremely intelligent thinking when Katie appeared out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her and said," Your turn. Also, be careful with the nozzle, it's pretty sensitive when adjusting to heat."

I gladly jumped in the shower, and skip a few moments later because I'm too lazy to type them getting dressed and it doesn't even matter, both girls began the trek to the mess hall donned in black tank-tops, cargo pants, and their own hoodies wrapped around their hips. Just in case it got brisk. Relying on memory mostly, they both made it just in time for Epps and Will to be looking at the entrance in which they came.

"Hey, we were wondering when you two would show up. Get your asses over here so we can introduce you to some people." Will waved us over. Complying, we made our way over to his table and were greeted by a couple of unknown faces.

"This right here is Fig and that is A.J." He pointed to two men, one looking distinctly Mexican while the other was pretty pale and was ginger. I shook both of their hands. The one named Fig turned to us and said," Mucho Gusto."

"They don't speak Spanish, Fig." Epps groaned. Oh really?

"Igualmente. Me llamo Jenny y se llama Katie." I smiled at him warmly. Both Will and Epps just stared at me with shocked expressions.

"Don't look at me like that, high school teaches us foreign languages, remember?"

Figs gave Epps a smug and triumphant look and Epps shot him the middle finger. I snorted at their antics and turned to Will.

"So, I heard from a reliable source that there was food to be had?"

"Ah, yes there is. Here, follow me and I'll show you where it is." Katie and I followed him to a line of soldiers that was slowly moving cafeteria style, and Will handed us trays.

"So basically, we get three course meals a day and everyone gets the same thing, so no awkward moment when they ask you what you want and you don't know. Breakfast is at 7, lunch is at 12, and dinner is right now, which I believe Epps told you is spaghetti. Food isn't 5 stars, but it's decent. Also, by command of Ratchet, our only beverage of choice is water." Katie frowned at this.

"You can't expect me to believe that there is absolutely no alcohol on this base." Katie smirked.

"You kidding me? When we play poker, we use Coke and Mountain Dew as currency. We have a small black market down here where we trade alcohol for patrol duties." I nodded my head, impressed. We got our food, our  _ water _ , and returned to the table. We spent the next few moments making small talk and telling them about ourselves and vice versa. Will had a wife back home named Sarah and a baby girl named Annabelle. Epps just got married and wishes he could be back home with her. Fig really loves his mother. A.J. moved from Ireland and is currently single and has informed me that he does indeed have a soul. After we finished, Epps immediately jumped on me.

"So what about that little GTA competition? You ready to get schooled?" Epps grinned excitedly.

"Now?" I question with a raised eyebrow. My response was an enthusiastic nod. I grinned sadistically and said," Let's do it."

~Time skip~

"Jen, where are you?! Police are shooting me up like Swiss cheese over here!"

"I told you, I'm trying to get a helicopter! Just use the Molotov cocktails!"

"I ran out!"

"How can you run out?! You just got them!"

"I wasted them on killing elderly people and prostitutes. That's how I'm in this situation in the first place!"

"Just run and hide and I'll pick you up with the helicopter. I'm coming for you now."

"There's nowhere  **to** hide! Oh my God, they brought tanks! Get your ass over here Jen! I need assistance!

"Calm down Epps, I told you I'm coming. This is what happens you kill old people, bro!"

"Shit, fat guy with a shotgun, FAT GUY WITH A SHOTGUN! Nooo!" Epps threw down his controller and crossed his arms with a pout on his face. I could not stop laughing for the life of me. After me and Epps had done a couple 1v1 matches and played cops and robbers, we resolved our differences and decided to work together to wreak havoc on the city. There were a lot of people online too, so we spent our time trolling around and throwing C-4 at their cars and shooting rockets at helicopters.

After I regained the gift of breathing, I looked over to Epps who was glaring at me. Please, I've seen worse.  _ Cough cough Sunstreaker cough cough. _

"Well, that was sucktastic!" I snickered with a shit-eating grin.

"I was lying there with bullet wounds, Jenny. I was pressing my Life Alert button, hoping for someone to save my life because I had fallen and couldn't get up, but where were  _ you _ ?! Stealing a goddamn helicopter from the airport!" He seemed pretty pissed.

"It's just a game, dude. Calm it down a little." I reasoned using my hands to display surrender.

"Hey, we thought someone was dying in here, so we came to check it out." Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Sideswipe sauntered in with Sunstreaker close behind, both using their holoforms. Sides hopped over the couch and sat between me and Epps while Sunstreaker took the place on my right. A hand was placed on top of my head and I turned to see Sides smirking down at me.

"So how's the stubborn glitch doing?"

"I'm doing just fine, jackass." I shook the hand off my head and frowned at him. "No thanks to you."

"What do you mean no thanks to me? I showed you around!"

"And left us here. Alone. Stranded in a giant base where getting stepped on is an actual hazard."

"Squishy has a-"Sunny was cut off by a look and with a sigh corrected himself. "Jenny has a point."

"Thank you….Sunstreaker." I managed to get out.

"Look at that, you're actually learning." I narrowed my eyes at him and he just gave a very small teasing smile.

"Tch, whose side are you on?"

"Considering the fact that you're my twin and I know you, it doesn't matter if I'm on your side or not, you'll still annoy the frag out of me. And she has this evil about her that I'd rather not mess with, so she wins." You can't blame me for the smile that graced my face. I love winning.

Sideswipe gave a dramatic gasp and said," But I'm your brother!"

"Doesn't mean a damn thing." Sunstreaker grunted.

Sideswipe looked down at me and scowled.

"What are you smiling at?"

"I win. Who doesn't smile after winning?"

"You win this time."

"No, I win forever."

"Jen, I have 5 stars again, I need help.  _ Again _ ." I had completely disregarded the fact that Epps had begun playing again and he was indeed fighting the police again.

"Y'know Epps, for a soldier that fights in the military, you really seem to have an unrealistic aggression towards the police force." I sigh as we began shooting our way out of the mess he got us in. The Twins became interested in our game and were easily absorbed in the violence. When the heat cooled down, me and Epps decided to get cars to jump off of buildings onto trains. That's when the dilemma hit.

"Get the red one."

"No, get the yellow one."

"Screw that, get the red one!"

"Frag that, get the yellow one!"

I had stumbled on some fancy looking sport cars and to my great dismay, they came in the colors of red and yellow. Epps had gotten off easy and decided to use the motorcycle. Lucky bastard. I was stuck in the swirling vortex of entropy that was known as trying to choose a damn color!

"Jen, what's your favorite movie?"

"Uhh…Jurassic Park." There was a pause where he seemed to be looking that up.

"The emblem is red, so therefore pick the red one!"

"Jenny, what's your favorite animal?"

"A cheetah?"

"Cheetah's are yellow, pick the yellow one."

"And here I thought you were an artist. If you were, you'd know that red is better!"

"Sideswipe, do you want to die? Because I will more than happily volunteer my services to fragging end you. I'm sure Jen won't mind."

"Oh well that's too bad because if I die, you die." This made me look at Sideswipe in alarm.

"Seriously?" It was Epps who answered.

"Since these two are spark split twins, and they have a sibling bond, if one of them were to go offline then so would the other. It's pretty hard ass shit."

"Wow. Fascinating. So, while these two butt heads like a couple of Pachycephalosaurus', which color should I choose?"

"Pachycepha-what?"

"Choose yellow. Red is more prone to getting speeding tickets than any other color." I did as he told me to and got into the yellow one and drove off to catch up to Epps.

"Well look at that, Sides. She chose  _ yellow _ ." You could practically feel the smugness rolling off of him.

"Frag off." Sides growled. Boy, today was just not his day.

We played for a couple more hours until Epps decided to turn in for the night. Something about how it was 11 at night, but I was barely paying attention because Epps had handed the controller over to Sides and he was busy shooting at the yellow car with vigor. With me in it, might I add.

Sunny got another controller, and like that we were all playing Grand Theft Auto. First it was them killing each other and me quietly going about my business destroying helicopters kamikaze style. It escalated to them double teaming me and going overkill by using rocket launchers to use me as target practice. I don't know when I passed out from exhaustion, but the last thing I remember is falling forward and someone catching me and pulling me into their lap. I dreamt of throwing Molotov Cocktails at Ashlynne Parker.


	8. Chapter 8

I hate to continue this story with me waking up again, but this is starting with me waking up again. I woke up on the couch I had slept on and found myself still in the rec room. I stretched languidly, and felt a piece of fabric slide off my body. The cloth turned out to be two jackets, red and yellow, that looked oh so familiar. The Twins must've placed them over me while I was sleeping. A soft smile reached my lips as I wrapped them around me tighter and snuggled into the warm and comfortable couch. It was a strange, yet unique smell of ozone and musky testosterone. The moment would not last however, as my stomach rumbled with the need to be fed. God, why are you so needy, body?

I pulled out my phone and checked the time. It was only  _ 6:54. _ Not breakfast time yet. Shrugging in apathy, I resumed my cuddling with my current resting place. Seriously, this thing was awesome; it was like that velvety soft kind of couch with the plushy armrests. Nevertheless, I should've known by now that I'm never gonna catch a break, so with that knowledge in mind, Katie bounced into the room with a big smile on her face.

"Jenny, get up! I have something great to tell you!"  _ God. Damn. It. _

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and propped myself up on my uninjured arm.

"What is so fantastic?" I yawned.

"Get out of bed and I'll show you!" Katie exclaimed while tugging on my arm. I snatched it out of her grasp and put up a finger to silence her, which surprisingly worked.

"Now hold on. You specifically told me that you had something to  _ tell _ me. You did not say that I had to get up, nor that movement was needed or required. I am also not in bed, I am on a couch. Please sort out your priorities before you try to speak to me." You could say that I'm a bit on the grumpy side right now, but see, that's what happens when I wake up before 7. Luckily, Katie had been around me long enough to realize it. Unfortunately, there was only one solution.

With a swift and powerful tug, I was now on the hard floor with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's jackets sprawled around my waist. Katie put me into an awkward full nelson, and began to literally drag me out of the room. I didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed as we went past a couple of soldiers that gave us bewildered looks. Eventually, after a fairly impressive bout of upper body strength by Kat, we arrived in the main hangar, where she unceremoniously dumped me on the concrete floor. Love you too, Katie.

"Is the lil' lady alrigh'?"

"Oh hey. Jazz right?"

"That'd be correct. Jenny, right?"

"That is my name, yes." I flailed my legs wildly to detangle the clothing that had slid down, and stood up to look the silver mech face-to-facial plates.

"So how long have you been on Earth?"

"Bout' two years. You?"

"Mmm, 16 years give or take." His smile was infectious and almost seemed like it was meant to fit him.

"Jen!" I looked over to see Katie up on the balcony accompanied by Will. I looked back up to Jazz and asked him to give me a lift. Y'know, cause' stairs are  _ such _ a hassle.

"So, what's up?" I question curiously.

"Will thinks he knows a way where we can go back home!" It looked like her face was about to rip into two, she was smiling so widely. The words home echoed around in my head. I had only been away for three days, and yet I missed it. Hell, I even missed the snake that I haven't even named yet.

"Really? That was…fast." Excitement bubbled up inside me and a matching grin graced my face. "What changed your previous prediction of us staying here for a couple months? Did you decide to use the grey matter that's in your cranium?" I teased.

"Oh you'll still be confined to the base for a couple more weeks at minimum." And like that, my mood deflated like an elephant on a bounce house. "However, I think I can get clearance to allow some of our guys to visit your parents and inform them of what's happened in the past couple of days. Once the Decepticon activity has gone down to our liking, we can get you guys on a groundbridge back to St. Louis. We'll of course be sending one of the Bots' to check up on you once in a while, but other than that you can go back to normal lives. Or as normal as it can get after meeting alien robots."

"My mom is going to shit a brick when she finds out what I've gotten myself into." Katie groaned.

"Your mom sounds like mine when I was a teenager." Will chucked.

"We can still visit right?" I ask with my biggest puppy eyes.

"Aww, are you gonna miss us?" Will smirked.

"I'll miss Epps, and a couple other people." I admit.

"But not your good friend Will?" Will dramatically gasped.

"Katie can miss you for me." I shrug nonchalantly. "Hey Jazz, mind giving me a lift to the cafeteria?"

"Do ah' look like a slave?"

"…Yes."

"Tha's cold." Jazz chuckled while lowering his hand for me to clamber on. Katie wanted to discuss the details with Will a little more, so I waved goodbye and we headed off. Jazz and I struck a deep conversation about music along the way, and how different it was here on Earth than on Cybertron, and how much meaning they had in them. He didn't have a favorite genre, but he did stray away from country and classical. Something about how it had to have a "zesty beat" or something. He dropped me off at the mess hall with me promising to let him listen to my iPhone later, and I went to go satisfy my tummy rumblings.

We must have gotten here at a lucky time, because they were serving French toast, hash browns, and BACON. I should see if there's any way to bribe the cooks to give me an unlimited bacon card. I got my food and sat down at an empty table. The room was a little barren, but more people were trickling in at a steady pace. Contemplating momentarily how similar this scene was to high school, I pulled out my phone that fortunately still had its headphones and started blocking out the drone of voices with music. I was in the mood, so I started blasting "Circle of Life" from the Lion King. Hey, it's a good fucking song!

With food scarfed down and my tray already taken care of, I sat back at my lonely table and merely people-watched. It wasn't like I had anything else to do, and I didn't feel like getting up. I zoned out, and starting thinking about my mom. My lips quirked up at the corners when an image of that crazy woman popped into my mind. Brunette hair like mine, went down to her shoulder blades but always kept up in a messy bun. Pretty hazel eyes filled with a kindness and understanding that so few humans possessed today. A voice that could make you cry from how tender it sounded, or make you cringe when she finds out you spilled grape juice on the carpet and tried to cover it up with paint that was 5x whiter than the original color.

She was brave, I'll give her that. Having to put up with me for 16 years and then put up with me alone after she and Dad got divorced, that must take a lot out of her. I'll never understand how she manages to work a single job as a nurse at a hospital where she's always got overtime shifts, clean the house, pay the bills, and still manage to be a mom at the same time. Sure, she could be a little dramatic at times, but I loved her with all my heart. Or what's left of it.

My thoughts shifted over to the Twins unexpectedly. Those two were a unique bundle. One minute they were pushing every single button I had like an ADHD kid who has to touch every single thing at a La-Z-Boy. The next minute, we were getting along like three peas in a pod. It was puzzling to me, considering I didn't make many friends. I hated that they could make me smile so easily, yet I loved the witty banter. I mulled over this until someone pulled a headphone out of my ear.

"Hey princess, mind giving us our jackets back?" Hmm. Now that is an interesting question. Where did I put those? Oh yeah!

I barely glanced at them when I mumbled," Main Hangar." Now this certainly did not appease the attention-seeking Sideswipe, who frowned at my less than enthusiastic response and plopped himself right in front of me. He stared at me. I stared right back. He grinned at me. I fought mine back. I am not going to smile.

Not going to smile. Not. Smiling.

_ Fuck. _

He grinned even wider at my failure, and moved so that he was right next to me.

"What are you thinking so hard about? Don't overexert yourself, your brain might combust into flames."

I shoved his face away and he put it obnoxiously closer, to the point where I had to plant my hand in his face to keep him at an arm's length distance.

"If you must know-"

"I do."

"I was thinking about my mom."

"You mean your female parental unit?" Sunny chimed in.

"No, I mean my mom, because that's what we say here on Earth."

"Well excuse me, but we've only been on this planet for a week."

"You are excused." I sigh. Only a couple of minutes talking to them and I was exhausted. It was silent for a couple of minutes, where the two were just looking at each other, when Sideswipe asked," What's Jurassic Park?"

I stared at him. Then I stared at Sunny. Then back to Sideswipe. And back to Sunny again.

"You're not kidding are you?"

"Again, only a week." Sunny reminded me. I took a deep breath. Then a couple more deep breaths.

"Jurassic Park is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg that is basically a million dollar company owned by a man named John Hammond that has created an amusement park where the attractions are living, breathing dinosaurs but a caretaker was killed in accident involving the dinosaur named  _ Velociraptor _ so he seeks out a paleontologist and a paleobotanist named Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Sarah Sattler to get their insight and approval of the park to allow the further construction of his park that is being built in Costa Rica…" I paused to take a long swig of my water bottle and resumed to explain in light speed.

"They both go to the park alongside another man named Dr. Ian Malcolm who is a mathematician and an advocate on the theory of chaos where they travel in a Jeep to the brachiosaurus paddock and are absolutely amazed by the fact that these creatures that lived 65million years ago are all of a sudden alive again. They then go inside to learn how all of this was even possible and discover that Hammond's scientists dug up fossilized mosquitos and used the DNA found in the blood to genetically create dinosaurs while connecting the chains of the broken DNA strands using that of a frogs. After, they go in the laboratory to witness a baby velociraptor being born and Ian Malcolm questions the control over the dinosaurs which conflict with Chaos theory and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy, tiger. Calm down." Sideswipe exclaimed using his hands to signal I needed to bring it down a few notches. "If you're that obsessed over it, we can just watch it."

I froze. I looked over to Sunny who seemed just the slightest amused by enthusiasm.

"You mean, you'd be willing to actually watch it? With me, present, in the same room?"

"Just don't talk, and you'll be fine." Sunstreaker smirked.

~Time Skip~

They should really take their own advice when they say no commentary. The whole movie was spent with them asking questions like," What's that?" and "What's that?" and a few instances where they asked," What's that?". I didn't bother asking them what they thought of it. They answered it for me.

"Please tell me there's another one." Sideswipe pleaded.

"Spielberg made two more of them. Technically. The last one was by Joe Johnston."

Sides turned to Sunny and asked," Do we have any patrols?"

"Yes." Sunny was one step ahead and was already playing the 2nd one.

"And you're not going?" I raised an eyebrow at them.

"No." They said in unison.

"I'm assuming there are consequences for that."

"Oh there's definitely going to be a brig cell with our name on it, but since when have we ever listened to the fragging rules. Besides, it's worth it if we get to kill time with a couple hours of awesomeness." Sides reasoned.

I smiled and splayed myself out so I was laying on top of them.

"Y'know, I had my doubts, but this could be the start of a beautiful friendship." I drawled.

Sunny looked down at me and gave a tiny smile.

"How could you ever doubt that?"


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a few weeks since Katie and I had arrived on this base. Our injuries had healed, because Ratchet was, and I quote, "Just that good". I had become quick friends with most of the bots' on base, especially Jazz, but none more so than the resident Terror Twins. If Katie hadn't already filled the spot, those two would easily be my best friends. We did pretty much everything together, and I had enough brig time on record to prove it.

Will had made good on his promise as well. Soldiers went to our houses, like he said, and they told our moms about what had happened and where we were, like he said, and with the help of Red Alert and his paranoia, we were able to talk to them with an  _ extremely _ secure phone line. Considering my mother's personality, I was not surprised that I had a constant ringing in my ears after the conversation and I had to keep touching them to make sure they weren't bleeding. How I envied the deaf.

Now had come the time where we would be reunited. Decepticon activity had gone down recently, so Will and Optimus deemed it safe for now for me and Katie to go back home. Of course, they weren't going to let us go without protection. I find it ironic that they're making the Twins watch out for us considering when we first met we were treating them like they were Barney and we were 5 year old boys.

Any belongings that we had obtained over the weeks were packed in bags and stored in the Twin's subspace. We were leaving via groundbridge in a few minutes, so were saying goodbye to everyone as fast as we could. Some even brought out there holoforms to give us a proper send-off. Ironhide gave me a bone-obliterating hug and made me swear that if boys gave me trouble, then to give him a call. I will never understand him and his obsession with cannons. Jazz made me promise that I'd visit once a week, and then made me pinkie promise it. I shouldn't have taught him that. We didn't hug, but instead did a handshake we had created. Insert whatever awesome handshake you fancy and can imagine us doing here.

And then there was Bluestreak. He and Katie were like cocaine and waffles. ~ **10 bonus points to anyone who gets that.** However, he had taken into confiding in me whenever he needed to talk to someone. Sure, he talked all the time, but all he ever wanted, no, all he ever  _ needed _ was someone to listen to him. And that's what I did. When the Twins were busy, and Katie was learning all kind of secrets about firewalls and viruses and all that crap from Red Alert, I would sit on Bluestreak's shoulder and listen to him tell stories about Cybertron before the war. What was absolutely amazing about him was the fact that he could keep a secret to his grave.

Ironic that the mech who talked the most was the most trustworthy one.

I walked up to him and he seemed to have this distant look in his eyes. I gently nudged him and he jumped looking startled, before seeing me and laughing nervously.

"Oh, hey Jen, I didn't see you there! So, I guess this is goodbye, even though it's not really goodbye since you and Katie will be visiting because I saw you pinkie promise Jazz and Katie said that you never break a promise which is really cool because humans seem to have weak morals and values, not that all humans do have weak morals and values or anything but some do, but not you or Katie because you two are awesome, in fact some of the most awesome humans I've ever met even though I haven't met a lot, It's gonna get kind of lonely here now with you two gone now but it'll be nice to have you guys here when you can be-." Bluestreak was rambling unusually fast, so I stopped him by placing a hand over his mouth.

"Blue, what's up?" I asked. Blue looked down at me with puppy eyes and whined.

"Do you have to go?" I swear to God, that face is going to be the death of me. It's so fucking cute! Like, you have to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from squealing about how adorable it is.

"I'm sorry Blue. But I have school, and my mom, and I just can't stay here. But don't worry, it's not like you'll never see me again." His eyes got distant again. Realization dawned on me, the bastard.

"It's not like you won't see Katie ever again either." I add in a suggestive tone. Bluestreak sputtered and flushed, stumbling on his words and waving his finger at me, trying to deny my accusation. It wasn't working. I chuckled and gave him a tight hug, one that he returned, and lightly shoved him towards Katie with a wink.

"Give my best friend a proper goodbye, would ya?"

"Shut up." Bluestreak mumbled, even though he was grinning.

Snickering, I hastened through my goodbyes with Will and Lennox and finally headed over to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. I opened up Sunshine's door with my sleeve and was met with no complaints. Immense pride and satisfaction filled me as the fact that I was probably the only human allowed to do this wrapped its way around my brain. It still felt like I was treading on broken glass with shoes made out of aluminum foil whenever I was in his alt form however. I was afraid exhaling germs into the air would set him off.

"So, you gonna miss us Fluffernutter?" It is a  _ long _ story of how I managed to get that nickname. It involves a sandwich with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff.

"Not as much as you'd like to believe." I reply coolly.

"Please, you know you'll be thinking about us." Stated Sideswipe with a flirty tone. No matter how many times he hints at similar innuendoes, my cheeks still get stained with red.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I smirk.

"Trust me, your face helps a lot with that." Goddamn it. Now Goldilocks was playing along.

"Hey Sunny, before I pour hydrochloric acid into your eyes, would you mind, oh I don't know, not stooping to Sideswipe's level."

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Sideswipe laughed through the radio.

"Did you think that was a compliment?" I laugh back.

"The fact that you think he could ever compare to me might be. Also…" Sunny's holoforms appeared and cuffed me over the head. Before I could retaliate he vanished like the cheater he is.

"Don't call me Sunny."

"You son of a-"

"Sorry to interrupt this lovely friendship festival, but it's time to go." Sideswipe cut in, saving his brother from an education of human curse words. Sunny's holoform reappeared and with it his engine kicked in and roared to life. Every time I heard it, it still caused me to flutter my eyes closed and left me breathless with the power behind it. When my eyes reopened I could see him looking at me from the corner of his eyes with a smug and victorious smirk. Fantastic.

So with one last backwards glance, Sunny and Sides drove forward into the glowing groundbridge.

**XxXxX**

Sideswipe had gone to drop off Katie, so I was completely silent as the house I had grown up in came into view. Sunstreaker revved his engine loudly to the point where I'm sure the entire neighborhood was aware of our presence.

"Showoff," I scoffed.

"Don't act like you don't love it." That smirk was almost as infuriating as his twin's. My retort froze and died on my tongue as my mom came out the door and looked, puzzled, at the expensive sports car. My heart swelled and like he was reading my mind the door popped open and I quickly got out. You should have seen her face when she took in the sight of her daughter in blue Jeans, a grey jacket, and a shirt that said," Rawr means "I love you" in dinosaur."~ **TatteredAngel42, that was for you**

"Jenny?" she whispered, as if it was too good to be true.

"Heya mom." My voice cracked and I ran into her open arms. There is nothing quite like Nirvana like losing yourself in the warm embrace of a hug only a mother can give. I remember her laughing breathlessly while I could feel her tears plopping on my head. She pet my hair and hugged me so tight it would've rivaled that of Ironhide's.

"Hey, baby girl." Mom laughed/cried. A choked sob broke out before I contained myself once again. No need to cry in front of someone who would bring it up over and over again.

"Sorry I haven't seen you in a while. I've just been busy; you know aliens and all that jazz." Always count on me to ruin the moment and lift the spirits at the same time. I pulled away from her and wiped the tears off her face.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would've saved the makeup on my face."

"That was an option, but I know how you just  _ love _ surprises."

"I almost punched your uncle in the face at a surprise birthday party. You call that love." It felt good to laugh with my mom again. Almost like some kind of weight in my soul had been lifted.

"Here, lemme get my stuff, it's over here." I bounced over to the Lamborghini where he was already standing with my bag in one hand. The book bag that started it all. I took it and muttered thanks while Mom took the bag from me.

"Believe it or not, I actually missed doing your laundry."

"Don't worry. That'll disappear in two days." I replied with a shrug and I gestured to Sunny.

"Mom, Sunstreaker. Sunstreaker, Mom. Cybertronian, human. Human, Cybertronian. Citizen, Autobot. Autobot, citizen." Basic information in less than 10 seconds. Mom smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I hope she wasn't too much to deal with, I know she can be a handful." Sunstreaker leaned against himself with his arms crossed and smirked at me.

"That's an understatement."

"Come on, I'm not that bad." Sunstreaker stared at me.

My mom stared at me.

I'm pretty damn sure a bird turned to stare at me too. The moment stretched on.

"Yes." Mom said slowly, breaking the silence.

"Oh, I see how it is." I huffed and turned on my heel to walk in the house, but a hand on my collar stopped me. I stubbornly kept trying to walk off.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from you guys." I have a right to sulk.

"Without saying goodbye?" Sunny pretended to act offended.

"Jenny, I've got something to show you when you're done." Mom called behind her shoulder as she walked off towards the house. I made a noise that signaled I heard her, and sagged under the hand that was holding me back.

"You wanted a goodbye, so bye. Now go." I huffed.

"I'm not going anywhere until you turn around, look me in the eyes, and then say that." Was the reply I got. Defeated, I turned around and reluctantly met his face.

"Bye, Sunstreaker." I winced when I heard how sad that sounded. I was about to walk off until I heard him clear his throat. He uncrossed his arms and made it so that his arms were resting on the roof of his alt form, but the message was loud and clear. With a huge smile, I practically tackled his exposed torso and squeezed. Arms wrapped around me and his voice was next to my ear.

"I'll see you around, Jennifer." It was the first time he had ever used my real name. It made me hug him even tighter. His arms tightened around me as well.

"Until next time, Sunstreaker."

"Sideswipe says "Bye, Fluffernutter."

"Bye, Strawberry."

We pulled away and I gave him a sweeping arm bow before finally walking off.

"Later, glitch."

"See ya, fragger."

"Goodbye, squishie."

"Hasta la vista, Velveta Cheese."

"Later,  _ human _ ."

"See ya,  _ Sunny."  _ His engine revved and it was instinct, my eyes closed and my body shuddered and I could hear him chuckle at my expense. Just as I was about to close the door, he flashed a charming smile and winked at me before racing off towards wherever the groundbridge was. My heart did a small jump and I rubbed at the spot, confused at the feeling. The hell was that? I didn't give it another thought as I closed the door and smiled.

It was good to be home.


	10. Chapter 10

"So, what did you need to show me?" I asked my mom when I walked into the kitchen.

"Remember the snake you brought home after the hiking trip?" She had that look of excitement someone gets when they want someone to open a present on Christmas that they bought for said person.

"Yes. It would be particularly difficult for me to forget such an event." Don't you just love snarkiness? Mom hit me upside the head and frowned.

"Just because you just got home doesn't mean you can go all sass on me again." She stated crossing her arms.

"Please. You wouldn't have me any other way." I snort while rubbing the spot where she cuffed me. Mom merely rolled her eyes and started walking up the stairs to which I followed.

"Keep telling yourself that." She called over her shoulder as we headed towards my room. I laughed at her response and earlier hypocrisy.

"You tell me I can't sass, but you fail to see that I got it from you! Completely unfair." I pointed out to her. We had entered the bedroom and she pointed to my dresser. First came a gasp, then a smile, then a hug to my mom with the words, "You are the best mother ever created" coming out of my mouth.

On the dresser was a completely different reptile. The snake was nowhere to be found nor was the tank in which I had put it in, but in their place a 1 foot Green Iguana and a 5 by 3 foot tank. Inside the tank (which was pretty damn big) was a thick tree limb, a basking lamp, rock cave, and about two inches of sand, as well as a water bowl. The Iguana was absolutely breathtaking. With it being so small, I assumed it was young and observed that its scales were a healthy, gorgeous shade of green.

I was currently doing that thing were you cup your hands over your mouth because you can't express how happy you are. I was so ecstatic that I failed to realize all the red flags that should've been going off in my head. For example:

Mother never gets me pets. The snake was nowhere to be seen. The biggest one of all should've been that I had just disappeared off the face of the Earth for a few days, worried her sick, and then called to inform her that we had accidentally made ourselves targets by an alien species and had to stay with the good guys for a couple of weeks because going back could mean danger for me and her. Why the hell would she get me something for that?

I froze. No. Oh no. No no no no no no no no no no n-

"I hope you realize that there is a catch if you're going to keep that reptile in my house."

_ Shit shit shit shit shit… _

I narrowed my eyes and looked at her with an emotion akin to that of fear in my eyes.

"…What?" I ask warily.

"One word."

"Yeah?"

"Job."

NOOOOOOO!

**XxXxX**

So not only was I going to get a job by the beginning of next term, I also had to attend Thanksgiving dinner.

With the family. Including my dad.

Yeah, this is going to suck. I lost complete track of time while I was at Diego Garcia and hadn't realized that Thanksgiving was right around the corner. A.K.A It was this Thursday. Today is Sunday. You may go ahead and start the countdown of my doom. Staying in close proximity with family members I haven't seen in a year that want to know what I've been up to and critique every choice I make in order to make sure I get a good start in life, added with obnoxious, whiny brats of cousins and then throw my dad in the mix with his new girlfriend that tries way too hard to get on my good side, I hope you understand why this isn't really my forte. I knew Mom would make me do something to get back at me, but this seems a little too far. Just make me wash the car in 40 degree weather or something, I don't care!

We were currently on our way back from school picking up make-up work (which there is a  _ shitload _ to do) and explaining my long hiatus. I didn't hear what my mom told my principal, but when we were about to leave he said something about condolences to my sister that I don't recall ever having.

"Mom, please don't make go through with this. Do you remember the last time our family tried to get together for a huge Thanksgiving? Aunt Donna blamed me for singeing her fur coat because she didn't believe that it was Cousin Dianna experimenting with cigarettes and grandmothers from both sides started screaming at each other over whose fault it was that you and dad got divorced."

"You forgot Uncle Steve rooting through our fine china and silverware." Mom replied dryly, eyes trained on the road completely.

"Exactly! And why is Dad even there? Why does his family have to come?" Temper Tantrum: engaged.

"Because his nephew is married to Cousin Ginny."

"Well, I know that, but why?" Pretty sure my whining was starting to irritate her.

"Because Jenny! Thanksgiving is a holiday where we have to put old grudges aside and be thankful for what we have, and that includes family! Can't you just put up for a couple of hours?" Hmm. Never looked at it like that before. Interesting.

I stared out the window and watched the scenery go by in a blur. Would it kill me to act like I'm this perfect little angel and to shut my mouth for a half a day? Would it really be so terrible to go through the Spanish Inquisition of turkey? If I can get momentarily kidnapped by a Decepticon and have my shoulder dislocated, then can't I manage to get through a mere six hours of pretending?

Yes I can, America.

"Fine." I relented, shrinking down in my seat to show my disdain. "One condition."

"And what would that be?" I could hear the relief in her voice that I wasn't going to be a pain, and a small smile met my face. I turned to face her and looked at her with dead seriousness.

"I'm not wearing a dress." Mom laughed heartily as we pulled into the driveway.

"I will agree to that, but your grandmother is not going to like that." We got out the car and entered the front door. I shrugged nonchalantly and merely responded with," She'll be fine."

Mom turned towards me with a stackful of papers and dumped them into my arms. I groaned when I felt the weight of it and looked at her with a look that basically screamed," MERCY!"

"Now you have something else to concentrate on instead of Thursday. You know what to do." She was about to walk off before something struck my mind.

"Wait, hold on!" Mom turned back around and looked at me quizzically.

"Yes?" I dropped my homework on the counter with a grunt and quickly spewed off what I wanted to say.

"Now don't get mad, but I may or may not have, kinda, sort of, possibly promised a friend back at base that I'd visit every weekend." I had started off confident at the beginning, but as I progressed I shrunk back into myself like a turtle and the ending came off as a squeak.

So, you know that moment where you know your parents are going to react badly when you tell them something, but there is no other option but to tell them anyway because it actually really important? This would be one of those moments.

"You promised what?" Angry scolding: engaged.

"Jennifer, do you even think when you do these things? How the hell am I supposed to get you to a military base every weekend, when you know that I work overtime on weekends! Do you have any idea how inconvenient this is? Let me guess, you pinkie promised this friend?" A nod was her answer, and she threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Look, I don't want to burst your bubble, but I can't do that. I mean, unless you miraculously got a driver's license or one of the Autobots is willing to abandon their duties to pick you up! Where is this base anyway?" It's kind of funny to see how much people use hand gestures to signal their emotions.

"Diego Garcia."

"Dieg-? That's all the way in the Indian Ocean, Jenny! Even if I had said yes, how the hell would I even manage to get you there?"

"Groundbridge." I mumbled, looking at the floor dejectedly.

"Groundbridge?" Mom stopped to look at me, confused. "What's a groundbridge?"

"In short words, Cybertronian teleportation device. How do you think I got here?" Mom's mouth made an 'O' shape and she appeared to calm down.

"So, groundbridge's can just teleport you there, no problem?" I was about to tell her that there had been a few glitches where you would end up in the wrong place, but a metaphorical light bulb magically appeared over my head.

"Yup, no problems! In and out like that, completely problem-free, absolutely no problems emerge; problem is not in its vocabulary!" Think I'm overdoing? Maybe a little.

"Hmm…" She was clearly contemplating this new information, and hope blossomed within me. It was silent for a few minutes, and then it was broken by a quick," Alright." Wait, what?

"Wait, what?" Mom exhaled heavily and smiled.

"I'll honor your friends promise, just as long as  _ you remain safe _ ." She replied, stressing the safety part. I whooped and fist bumped the air in excitement, and gave Mom a quick, tight hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I giggled. I let go of her and proceeded to dance around the counter with the intimidating pile of homework in my arms. Mom chuckled at my enthusiasm and lightly pushed me towards the direction of the stairs.

"Work, now!" I obeyed and practically pranced up to my room where I promptly started to ignore the papers upon papers that I unceremoniously dumped on the bed and quickly grabbed my phone. Don't you just love how mentally initiating technology is nowadays?

I entered a number that I could dial with my eyes closed and waited as I listened to the dial tone.

" _ Jenny?" _

"Hey, Kat! Adjusting back to normal, mundane human civilization?"

" _ Yeah. S'not that bad. Kind of boring. I've been burying my eyeballs in literal pounds of worksheets. I have three papers to do, Jen! Three! At this rate, I'll get Carpal Tunnels syndrome." _

"Yeah, well at least that's all you have to do and be grateful that your mother isn't as grudge-holding as mine."

" _ No, she's pretty equal compared with yours. Had to clean out the litter box. All three of them. And I have to work overtime for the next week at work! What's your mom making you do?" _

"Let's see. I have to get a job, do my homework, and go to a Thanksgiving family reunion. Sound painful enough?"

" _ What?! Why do you need a job? Don't get me wrong, some sense of responsibility would do wonders for you as well as something called humility, but why? And don't you basically hate your family, or at least the distantly related ones?" _

"I'm getting a job because Mom got me an iguana and I don't hate them, I just prefer not to be in the same room with them." There was silence on the other end for a few moments.

" _ Your mother…got you…an iguana?" _

"Yup."

" _ Let me get this straight, an iguana?" _

"Yes Katie. The reptile of which you speak is what I have been given."

" _ It's still your mother we're talking about, right?" _ I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the bed, snuggling myself under the warm covers and kicking the pain in the ass stack of papers off it at the same time.

"Yes Katie! My mom got me an iguana, it is green, female, and probably still a juvenile at this point. What is such a big deal?"

" _ Jenny, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm just really confused as to why your mom would just get you an iguana. Like, you've been gone for a good solid two and a half weeks. You've been living with sentient mechanical beings from the planet Cybertron and you were temporarily kidnapped by a Decepticon, someone who wants to enslave all of Mankind. You also received a dislocated shoulder." _

"You know what's cute to listen to? You listing off these facts as if I don't remember them, and you keep saying "you" instead of "we" like you weren't also there. Absolutely adorable. Also what the hell happened to not on an open phone line?" Sarcasm: engaged.

"… _ Shut up. Back to the point, WE went through all this stuff and after weeks of not being home and then suddenly showing up out of the blue, you just get an iguana?" _

"Jealous much? And I didn't just get an iguana; she gave it to me as long as I get a job."

"  _ One: I am not jealous. I have three cats, so screw you. Two: Yeah, sure, that's all nice and dandy but why not something less extravagant, something that doesn't depend on you to survive. Like a new laptop because yours is still destroyed, or hell, I don't know, a bike?"  _ Hmm. She did have a point. I'm not sure I exactly deserve a pet after all the shit I went and put my mom through. I pondered this for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

"My mother is crazy and wasn't thinking clearly at the time."

" _ Sounds the most logical." _

"God, you sound like Prowl."

" _ Not on an open phone line, remember?" _

"Right, right."

" _ Besides, you sound like the Twins. The Lamborghini ones, not the Chevrolet ones." _

"I'm not sure whether that's an insult or a compliment." I laughed, thinking fondly of the two mechs who I managed to become close friends with.

" _ I'd think you know better, considering you're the closest one to them." _

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked confused, narrowing my eyes as I did so.

" _ Nothing. Just that you're like, they're best friend. Was it supposed to mean something else?"  _ NO!

"No. Just wondering."

" _ Yeah. I'm sure that's the entire truth."  _ Katie said dryly.

"Hey, do I interrogate you about Bluestreak?" The effect was immediate.

" _ W-what are you- whaddya mean- what are you saying? Blue is my friend, nothing more!" _

"Uh-huh. Tell me, did you guys talk today?" Take the bait, Kat. Take the bait.

" _ Yeah. We talk everyday which is completely normal if you are friends!" _

"And what, might I ask, did you guys talk about?"

" _ Actually, we just talked about me. He kept asking me questions about myself, like favorite movie and color and superhero. Then we got into a debate about which Robin should be the successor to Batman should Batman step down."  _ Hook, Line, Sinker.

"Because asking questions about one another is totally what platonic friends do, they want to know everything about you because they're  _ such _ good friends." It was taking all my strength not to laugh.

" _ If you're going to be that guy, I'm going to reciprocate this treatment and bestow what is happening to me unto you. So, Jenny, which twin do you think is the hottest?"  _ I choked on my own saliva.

"You say what now?!"

" _ I don't think I have to repeat myself."  _ God, I hate it when people get inside my head.

"Your little payback is cute, but you can do your worst because Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are only friends and it will always be that way."~ **Oh Jenny. You sad, sad, naïve bitch, you.**

" _ Look, as much as I would love to keep taunting you about your relationships, I have an essay to write so I'll talk to you later. Hey, is your mom letting you visit the Aut- I mean our friends at…camp." _

"Katie, give that shit up, it's already too late. The answer is yes. If a Decepticon kills me in my sleep, know that I love you as a friend."

" _ You mean how you love the Terror Twins?" _

"Do me a favor, and please shut your face!" Heat adorned my cheeks and I could feel it spreading to my ears. Katie laughed over the phone and ended the call with a quick,"  _ Adios, amiga!" _ I groaned and stared up at the ceiling, mulling over everything that had happened. Where the hell was I supposed to get a job? What was I supposed to do? Who in their right mind would hire me? I checked my phone for the time.  _ 2:53 _ . So much time left in the day, which means I am forced to do some of the crap that I left on the floor. Groaning with annoyance, I flopped over on my face and started to roll across my bed until I came to the edge of the bed, where I slowly slid down the side onto the floor like a snake. A lazy, unmotivated snake.

~Time skip about, like, I dunno three hours? Three hours sounds good.~

One more worksheet. One more  _ fucking _ algebra worksheet and I am done. Finite. Finished. Just twenty-five problems standing between me and my freedom. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the lack of daily nutrients was taking its toll on my concentration. My eyes kept glazing over, and I had to keep spraying myself in the face with a mist gun to keep myself focused. These problems are easy, Jennifer. You can do these in ten minutes top if you put your mind to it and stop stalling.

Put the pencil to the paper. Good job.

Now write your name. Atta girl.

Finally, solve this problem. There you go!

_ Riiing riiing. _

Shit.

Despite my inner self screaming at me to ignore it, I picked up the phone, anything school related completely pushed aside from my head. It was an unknown caller. Weird.

"Hello, how can I help you?" I asked politely.

" _ Why don't you ever sound this sweet and innocent whenever you talk to us?" _

…For once. I have nothing to say.

"Sideswipe?" I asked astonished, eyes widening.

" _ The very mech, princess." _

"How the hell did you get my number?"

" _ What, don't want to talk to me?" _

"Answer the question, Sides."

" _ Answer mine first, and maybe I'll think about it." _

"I asked mine first."

" _ I asked mine more recently." _

"Sides..." I groaned, the school work sucking out all my joy and happiness.

" _ Fine. Bluestreak was talking to Katie and tried to hide it but me and Sunny found out and made him ask Katie what your number was and now here we are."  _ In the background I could hear Sunny's unmistakable growl," Don't call me that."

"Dude, unnecessary." I tucked the phone in between my shoulder and ear and began to chip away again at the momentary bane of my existence.

" _ Oh, I disagree. I didn't get to say a proper goodbye." _

"Yes you did."

" _ No I didn't." _

"Yes, you did."

" _ No, I didn't. It wasn't in person, therefore it wasn't proper." _

"Oh and this is in person?" I laughed.

" _ Hmm. If I say yes, will you answer my question?" _

"What question?"

" _ The one we literally argued about 60 seconds ago."  _ I was silent for a few seconds before I exclaimed," Ooooh!"

" _ You brain seems to be losing its keen edge, you're not doing drugs are you?"  _ My brain shut off for a few seconds before I turned it back on and gave it a system reboot.

"I applaud your usage of human phrases, but what would implore you to ask me that?"

" _ Don't drugs kill brain cells?" _

"Yes, but you try doing weeks upon weeks of homework for three hours straight and see if you don't want to slam your head into a meat grinder."

" _ I thought homework was supposed to stimulate brain activity and help humans learn?" _

"It is, but human teenagers don't care about their brain activity."

" _ Humans are so fragging confusing!"  _ Sideswipe grumbled.

"Amen to that." I yawned absently.

" _ So, you glad to hear from me?" _

"You are not going to let that go, are you?" I smiled, scribbling away at the paper.

" _ No way in Pit."  _ I heard him chuckle. I dramatically sighed and popped my back.

"Well, if you're really forcing my hand on this…" I ended the call. I quickly answered the last problem and threw my pencil down in victory, silently cheering and jumping around in blissful relief.

_ Riiing riiing. _

"City Morgue, how can I help you?"

" _ You're mean." _

"Changing your mind about calling this number at all?"

" _ Answer the damn question." _

"…Yes, Sideswipe. I'm glad you called." I've never blushed this many times in one day.

" _ See, that wasn't so hard now, was it? I bet I know why you're glad."  _ The challenge was there, I could hear it in his smug little voice.

"Really? And why, pray tell, am I glad?"

" _ Because I'm your best friend." _

"Sides, we have been over this multiple times! Katie is my-"

" _ No, she isn't! Don't try to deny what you're really thinking; I AM your best friend!" _

"Sides-"

" _ Nope, what I say is law." _

"You're insufferable." I groaned, lying back down and dragging a hand down my face.

" _ You know you love it." _ His voice had dropped an octave, and it caused my heart to skip a beat. No, seriously, what the fuck is that? Why does that happen?

"Not sure how much I'll love it when I see you guys this weekend."

" _ Just when I thought we were rid of you and your fragging sarcasm."  _ Two can play at this game.

"You know you love it." I lowered my voice like his, and he chuckled darkly.

" _ Touché, Fluffernutter. Touché."  _ I could hear my mom calling me down for dinner and I placed a hand over the speaker to yell my confirmation that I had heard her.

"Sides, I got to go. Mom's calling me."

" _ Your mom can wait; you're preoccupied at the moment." _

"Sides, if I had to choose between you and food right now, I'd choose the food."

"… _ That hurts. That hurts deep." _

"I haven't eaten all day; my primal instincts are getting to me. Look, I'll talk to you afterwards okay?"

" _ Thirty minutes, that's what you get." _

"Absolutely ridiculous condition, but okay. I'll talk to you in thirty minutes. Bye."

" _ Bye, best friend." _


	11. Chapter 11

Hate. That's what I think characterizes my emotions perfectly right now. Pure, unadulterated hate.

I was in a dress. Not a comfortable combo of jeans and a T-shirt, not a pair of Khakis and a dress shirt, not even a skirt! A dress. Talk about being out of your comfort zone. Mom had forced me to do it, even though it was specifically announced in our conditions that I was not going to wear one. I hated the fact that I couldn't sit with my legs open and the open air underneath my legs was making me feel self-conscious. I had to shave just for it and it was SO cold outside. There was supposed to be a chance for snow later on this evening. I am not amused.

It was a simple dress thankfully, one that went down just below my knees and it was a soft purple with a black fancy belt that's only there to give the dress more design around the waist. I got to wear my converses with it. Score.

Silence filled the car as we drove to my impending doom. Today was Thanksgiving, and sure, I had a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful that I'm not the only one who is not looking forward to this. I'm thankful the place where we're going is close enough to where if I really wanted to, I could bolt and run for home. I'm thankful that it's not at our house, where my new pet who I've decided to call Emerald(so original, right?) would most likely be killed by me not paying attention and having one of my cousins take it and pet it to death. And last but not least, I'm thankful that this will only be 6 hours.

Shall we talk about why I'm not thankful for a minute to give you some perspective as to how I feel? I'm not thankful that this is held at my Dad's house. I'm not thankful that my grandmother on his side is coming. I'm not thankful that I will have to play babysitter with the young kids who will more than likely break a vase and then blame it on me (again). God, Primus, I don't care which one, just show me mercy today.

We pulled onto the curb of my dad's driveway, and I could clearly see the extensive line of cars that had already arrived before us. Joy. The brisk wind flittered across my barren skin and I broke out into irritating Goosebumps that were going to take forever to get rid of. I slowly walked behind my mom, making sure that when the door opened, she would have to take the brunt of the," Oh my goodness, I haven't seen you in forever!" and the," Get over here and give your family a hug, sister!" Ugh.

One procrastinated, stalling footstep after another, I found myself on the familiar "No Solicitors allowed" doormat. I could hear boisterous laughter, the nonstop drone of chatter, and the sound of babies crying on the other side of the door. My mom rang the doorbell. All sound stopped for a minimum of at least 5 seconds. It was really eerie.

I faintly heard a muffled," That must be your ex-wife, Dear." Oh no. Not he-

The door opened to reveal my dad's girlfriend. The woman he had left my mother for. She had on a cocktail dress and a shark-toothed grin plastered on her face.

"The Acadia's! Oh my God, Susan, you look so good, and Jenny! You've grown so tall and you're wearing a dress! Gracious, what'd take to get her into one of those? Never mind that, you look so gorgeous!"

Mom smiled back politely; however forced it was I did not know.

"Hello, Charlotte." Because of her, I can never watch my favorite movie about a pig and a spider with super intelligence. Charlotte was still smiling away.

"Well, don't just stand out in the cold, come on in!" Oh, trust me. That is the  _ last _ thing I want to do right now. We stepped inside and I instantly raised the defense systems and had my Ewoks at the ready. I didn't bother looking around at the house's décor. I had already seen it enough times to remember it.

It smelled like Pine-Sol and one of those candles from Yankee Candle named Gingerbread House. Classy.

I made half-assed waves and smiles to people that extended greetings towards me, and was really trying to make my way towards the big-ass couch that could seat eight people. I had forgotten about the traditional football games that played on Thanksgiving. Looks like God/Primus is watching out for me. They've given the male population of this family a suitable distraction. Looking around, I realized there was absolutely no solace or escape to be found.

The house was segregated into the classical, stereotypical house. All the females were conversing inside the kitchen with wine glasses perched within their grasp. All the males gathered around the couch, their small, white eyes glued to the TV, hypnotized to the bright glow of the screen. Flashes of blue, silver, and green danced across the screen in a flurry as the Thanksgiving Detroit Lions game played across the screen, cheers and moans emitted from their mouths with every play. All the children were gathered on the floor, some of the older kids trying to distract the younger ones with coloring books that had the cheap waxy crayons that barely showed up on the paper.

As I observed my surroundings and was trying to formulate a plan where I could eliminate as much social interaction as possible, I failed to realize that I was being stalked by one of the most dangerous predators I've ever encountered.

"Jenny, sweetie. It's been so long since I've seen you. Why don't you give your old grandmother a hug?"

My grandmother-in-law. She had cornered me. And was waiting there staring me down with open arms.

_ The horror _ .

I could see my mom giving me a warning look while she talked with her sisters, and I had no choice but to submit. Reluctantly, I submitted myself into a suffocating hug where itchy lace and old lady smell enveloped my senses. On the outside, I seemed calm and collected and reciprocated the embrace with equal force, but on the inside…ugh. My mind kept screaming at me to get away get away get away get away…

"So, what have you been up to in the past year? Getting good grades I hope. I won't allow my grandchildren to be uneducated," she said cryptically, looking me up and down with a critical eye, like I wasn't the best cut of meat she saw at the Wal-Mart. I fought back an eye roll, and forced a smile while I took two liberating steps back from her.

"I'm adjusted, I eat all four food groups, look both ways before crossing the street, take long naps, and get disciplined."~ **10 bonus points for knowing what movie that's from.**

"Disciplined?" Grandma what's-her-face repeated, taken aback from the abrupt statement. She looked towards my mother for an explanation, who was currently glaring at me for putting her in this situation.

"Not the physical kind, just restriction of certain privileges like her phone and…laptop when she doesn't obey rules." Yeah, or discover an alien race, get kidnapped by Con's, and stay with the military for a few weeks without calling.

Grandma I-don't-remember-her-name nodded approvingly and took the opportunity to announce her opinions.

"Yes, very good Susan, excellent parenting. Can't have rebellious teenagers running about, can we? I remember back in my younger days if you weren't acting right your neighbors could spank you and send you on home without another thought. Why, nowadays, we can't touch other children without getting sued or charged with assault! And if you do lay a finger on your own child, you're seen as abusive! Can you picture  _ me _ , abusive?" Yes. Yes I can. "If good old John ever stepped out of line, he knew there was a wooden spoon waiting for him when he came home. And my son turned out just fine, didn't he?" Aside from the fact that he cheated on my mother, sure, he came out to be a  _ strapping _ young man!

As Grandma something-or-other droned on about how parents needed to discipline children more, I felt a presence behind me. Spending time with the Twins comes with an automatic eye on the back of your head to prevent yourself from ambush. I failed to catch mom's worried expression, and turned around to see who it was.

I froze.

Behind me was a man of about a 6' stature, well-groomed, chocolate-colored hair, a build that would make most women do a double-take, a face that would make them do triple-takes, and straight white teeth.

I got angry.

The man was wearing a nice set of khakis, along with a maroon dress shirt that showed off his biceps, and Sperry's. He looked apprehensive towards me, like he wasn't sure what to say, or if he should even be near me.

My fists clenched at my side.

"Hey there, kiddo."

I gritted my teeth.

"Hello,  _ Dad _ ."

Fuck you, universe.

**XxXxX**

Mom had saved the day and sent me to the kitchen to help with the final touches of the cholesterol-inducing feast. She was currently talking to my father, most likely telling him how we were doing instead of me because her temper is far more controllable than mine. I was currently peeling and washing potatoes while zoning in and out of conversations from the older gals.

"I love your shoes! Where did you get them?"

"…chamomile is such a great relaxer for when you're stressed; there was this one time…"

"…lost five pounds in one week! From jogging!"

"…breasts feel so much better ever since Dakota started getting bottle-fed…"

I grimaced at the last one, and in the distraction my hand slipped and I accidentally cut myself. I hissed in pain, and quickly put it under running water. Once the bleeding slowed, I saw that it was just a small, thin cut across the width of my palm.

"Oh shit, Jenny! Are you okay, here let me see that." Charlotte came up behind me and tenderly took my hand, assessing the damage and babying over it. Pretty soon, my personal space was being invaded by women trying to get a peek at the wound and debating whether or not it would need stiches or how to bandage it. Spare me the idiocracy.

Mom decided to finally realize that the fuss in the kitchen was evolving around me, and came into the fray as well. As soon as she came up, everyone else backed off. The other lionesses didn't dare to get too close to the mother's cub.

"It doesn't look like it needs stitches, but we should clean it up just in case. It was with a potato peeler, right? Alright, Joan, would you look under the sink; there should be a first-aid kit somewhere." Sure enough, the kit did appear.

"You sure know your way around the kitchen, don't you, Susan?" Aunt Joan teased. It was meant to be a joke, and I'm positive she meant well, but Mom just went to work dabbing the cut in alcohol and said," I did used to live here."

Silence. Tense, awkward silence.

Charlotte was looking most uncomfortable with the situation, so she pardoned herself and left the already crowded kitchen. Within three minutes, my hand had a nice, clean, white bandage wrapped around it, carefully and craftfully avoiding being wrapped around my fingers to allow them to be mobile.

"Thank you." I said, giving her a small smile.

"You're welcome." Mom replied, returning it.

The cooks decided to take me off potato duty and I was now placing marshmallows on the Sweet Potato Casserole. The children had decided that coloring books was now boring, and decided to pester us for food. They were repeatedly told no by their mothers, and when I caught them trying to sneak some behind their backs and alerted the ladies before the sacred edibles could enter those greedy little mouths, they activated Temper Tantrum mode and called me a tattletale. And punched my leg and ran away. They then made a game of "Let's see how pissed off we can get Jenny" and decided to go in turns by pinching, licking, and physically doing anything to annoy the fuck out of me. They would run out before I could kill them and small giggles could be heard from the living room where the little gremlins were scheming. Things got too far when a certain little cousin decided to sink her developing teeth into my leg.

"Holy sh-!" I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop the word from coming out, and simply began taking deep, deep,  _ deep _ cleansing breaths and letting them all out in very sharp hisses of pain. I held my leg, and then immediately let go when I felt slick saliva coat my fingers. The mother of the little cretin, whos name I think is Michelle, scooped the devil in her arms quickly and began mumbling angrily to herself and the child in her arms as she stepped outside. Poor Michelle. She must be Wonder Woman.

"Honestly, I don't understand why they have such a vendetta against you!" Exclaimed Aunt Joan, who was leaning against the counter with more wine in her hand. I guarantee, Dad's stock is going to be gone by the end of tonight. Everything was done, all we were waiting for was some dishes to come out of the oven and we would stuff ourselves silly. The Detroit game was over, beating the Green Bay Packers 40-10, and now the men had taken a break from football to let the children watch what they wanted to watch. It wasn't really their choice, the women just wanted to distract the kids to give them a moment's peace. Adventure Time was blaring from the screen, and I found myself quietly singing along with the song in my head.

"I don't like kids, and the feeling is mutual." I shrugged, not really all that angry anymore considering the culprit was getting chewed out as we speak. Serves the little brat. She gave me bite marks.

"Well don't you ever want to have kids?" Joan asked.

"I don't think I have to worry about that at my age right now." I replied, absently tracing patterns on the counter surface. Another woman, my aunt-in-law, I think, snorted at my response.

"Girls today, I swear. All they ever think about now is the present and never the future. Always what the hairstyle is, what clothes to wear, who the nice catches are in school. Never about colleges, or jobs, or how they're going to provide for themselves. Although, you have a right mindset Jennifer, you  _ don't _ need to worry about that. Not until you're 25! Your mom will agree with me, too! Tell me, do  _ you _ know what you want to be when you grow up?" She eyed me critically, most likely anticipating an answer she could chew up and spit out.

"I want to be a paleontologist." I stated firmly, daring her to question it.

"Paleontologist? I can't see any money in that, darling. No, you should walk in your mother's footsteps and get in the medical field. Even better, one up her and become a doctor. You're smart enough for that, right? That should get you a nice income, and definitely a nice man. A nice, well-educated man. I know a nice gentleman down at the hospital that could get you an internship! You might have to volunteer first, but with a few strings pulled, I could-"

"No." I cut her off abruptly. Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"No? What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm becoming a paleontologist. I've wanted to be a paleontologist, I've been looking at colleges for that degree, and I'm not just going to give that up because it might not have enough money." I said in a voice that left no room for discussion.

"But you don't realize the responsibilities an adult has to own up to! There's credit card bills, car payments, utility bills, mortgage, groceries, clothes, all kinds of things that you need to pay for! I just don't see pathology bei-"

"Paleontology. Yes, I understand, being grown up is hard, and I'm thankful that I'm still 16 for as long as I will be 16. But you have to understand something. I don't want my job, scratch that, my  _ career _ to be work. I want to do something that I'll enjoy doing every single day, something that I won't have to grieve about having to go to every morning, something that I  _ love _ . That is much more important to me than what's a good paying job. I don't make enough? I'll get a part-time job, I don't care. But I'm not giving up my life choices because they don't seem adequate in your eyes. Also, the green beans will be done in about five seconds, so you might want to call everyone for dinner." I turned away from the stunned expressions and walked out, just as the oven resounded with its  _ ding _ .

**XxXxX**

Sideswipe was texting me. It wasn't even the kind where it was spaced apart evenly; it was the kind where they were blatantly doing it to get your attention. It kept buzzing on my leg, and it was highly distracting. There was one rule that you always obeyed at the table: No phones allowed. I was sitting next to the girl who bit me, sadly, and I was trying desperately to hide the phone away from her. I knew that if she saw it, she would rat me out faster than Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar. Everyone was making small chat with one another, passing food items in a systematic pattern, and thanking all the cooks for the astounding food. Not gonna lie, these sweet potatoes were life-changing.

"So Jenny dear, how has school been? Are you doing well?" Grandma IDK asked nonchalantly. Why has everyone suddenly taken this huge fascination in my life? Seriously, talk about human rights, I don't care.

"School's good. I had to make up 2 weeks' worth of school work, but other than that, everything's good." I realized my mistake too late.

"Why did you have to make so much work?" Everyone's attention was now on our conversation. Shit.

"Ummm…" I so eloquently answered.

"Vacation." Mom blurted out. Thank god for her.

"Vacation?" Dad asked. "To where?"

"Diego Garcia." I said when my mom seemed to blank on ideas.

"Ooh, that sounds exotic, where's that?" Aunt Joan asked intrigued.

"Island in the Indian Ocean." Thank you, Optimus Prime!

"The Indian Ocean? Why the hell would you go so far away for a vacation? Why would ya' go on vacation in the middle of the year anyway?" Uncle…Richard…asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, I thought you worked overtime at the hospital? How could you manage to find enough time to take off work?" Aunt Michelle added.

"I didn't go with her!" Mom defended, somewhat foolishly. This was going to take a while to explain.

Sideswipe was still texting me.

"You sent our daughter to some random island in the Indian Ocean?" Dad questioned, his voice raised slightly. I scowled slightly when he said "our". Mom was trying to come up with ways speak her way out, but too many people were talking over her, asking too many questions at once. I've had enough of this tomfoolery.

"She didn't send me to a random island; Katie and I went there with the People-to-People Student Ambassador program!" I yelled over the voices. Now, if you don't know, People-to-People is a travel service based in Spokane, Washington offering domestic and international travel opportunities to middle and high school students. Carry on with the story, reader.

A collective "ooh" went around the table, and mutterings of "why didn't you just say that" were also heard. Mistakenly, I had stood up to alert every one of my lie and my phone slid out between my legs and plopped on the ground. It buzzed again, and the little monster grabbed it and presented it proudly.

"Jenny bwoke da' wules!" She screeched triumphantly.

"Give me that, you spawn of Satan!" I snatched it from her hands and again it buzzed. The sad part was that all Sideswipe was writing was "hey." Satan spawn's mother glared at me from across the table.

"Jenny, you know the rules. No phones at the table." Grandma blah-blah-blah scolded.

"But, I don't have pockets or a purse. And he keeps texting me!" I waved to the phone, trying to express my frustrations.

"So it's a he that is texting you?" Dad asked. Way to act like a father for once.

"It doesn't matter, no phone at the table! Put it away!"

"Jenny ga' a boyfwend, Jenny ga' a boyfwend!" The little snot started to sing.

"Shut up!" I yelled at her. She started to cry.

"Susan, I am sorry, but the way your daughter is behaving is despicable! I hate to see how she acts at home, what with the way she doesn't act like a lady, or have manners, or any decency. Maybe if you had stayed with my son, she would behave better."

I snapped.

"Stop! Just stop! Stay out of my life! It's not your business! It's not ANY of your business! My mom raised me exactly the way a child should be raised, with love and support of their decisions, so don't you dare try to suggest that it's her fault! Don't you fragging  _ dare _ ! And her, stay with dad?! Are you out of your mind? She left him because HE was cheating on her with HER!" I pointed frantically at Charlotte. "I can't believe I have to call him dad, because that's exactly what he's  _ not _ ! He doesn't show up for volleyball banquets, he doesn't send birthday cards, he doesn't call, it's like I don't even exist! You think you're son turned out well? He turned out to be a pretentious idiot who couldn't even see what he had was better than anyone else on this planet until he traded it for  _ that _ ." Again, I pointed at Charlotte. "Don't try to fix my family into this perfect little picture that you have in your twisted mind, because we are just us! And I love us just the way we are! And the fact that you can't accept that is absolute garbage! I pity you, and your fragged up idea of trying to contort people into what you want them to be!"

I was quivering, hands clenching and unclenching in pent up rage, dark anger swirling around inside of me like a hurricane. Everyone was silent. Shocked faces went all around the table, and Mom was silently looking down. The phone buzzed again. I picked it up.

"I have to take this." I seethed through my teeth, and promptly walked right out the door, slamming it behind me.

**XxXxX**

I ran. I didn't know where I was going, but I ran. The cold bit at my legs, whipping at my face and stinging it, but that was okay. My eyes already stung from the tears. My phone was stuffed into my jacket pocket, and I ran away from that wretched house. I sloppily wiped at my eyes, and kept sprinting down the street, blocking my surroundings out, blocking everything out. I felt so angry, and confused, and  _ hurt _ . Why couldn't humans accept people for who they are? What was so difficult about it? I couldn't understand. I kept running and running, not stopping until somehow I came to a bench. I sat on the bench and curled up into a ball. If there was anything I could ever want, it would be jeans right now.

I tried desperately to control my breathing, and my pants came out in little white clouds. I couldn't feel the cold, my blood was still pumping too fast to cool down, but I knew that if I sat here, I would be a shivering mess. I sat there silently, and while I breathed, I took out my phone with shaky hands.

_ 133 messages _ .

Goddamn it, Sideswipe.

I texted him back quickly.

_ What, in the name of God, Shiva, Yehovah, and Primus, was so goddamn important? _

The reply was almost instant.

_ ::I need entertainment.:: _

_ You caused a falling out in my family because you wanted me to entertain you? _

_ ::You might want to back up a few steps and explain a couple things. What do you mean when you say "falling out" and how did I cause it?:: _

I spent the next few minutes explaining my dilemma.

_ ::Wow. That sucks. Where are you now?:: _

_ A park, I think. Tower Grove Park. It's pretty cold. Why? _

He didn't answer back. I sat there for about ten minutes before I felt someone tap my shoulder. I looked up and was surprised to Sunny's holoform standing there.

"Sunshine?"

"Don't call me that." He grumbled. He eyed my dress and raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

"Don't ask. Sideswipe will tell you sooner or later." I deadpanned, looking down at my knees, curling tighter up in my ball of barely conserved warmth.

"Sides already told me. Fragger sent me here saying you needed cheering up."

"I'm fine, Sunstreaker. Just need time alone is all." I sighed tiredly, exhaustion physically and mentally slowly creeping up on me. Sunny hummed lowly behind me, and before I could blink, I was standing up and being dragged by my arms.

"Sunstreaker. Let me go." I ordered with no heat, not really resisting and sort of just following him as he grabbed me by the sleeve(wouldn't want human oils on him, now would we?) and directed me to God knows where.

"No." That was the only reply I got. I didn't really expect anything less from him though. We walked for a while, to the point where he didn't have to lead me anymore, and we were just strolling. I felt my hand being taken, and saw Sunstreaker looking at the bandage critically. He arched an eyebrow and I just responded with a "long story." Sunny looked at me expectantly, and I got the feeling he wanted me to take us somewhere. Thanks, Goldy.

I didn't realize where we were until I saw a bookshop. We were on Main Street. Again. I smiled wistfully at the memory, and went inside the bookstore. The smell of coffee and old, timely paper greeted me. It was relaxing. I absently wandered around the rows of books, until I saw Sunstreaker had stopped and was looking at something curiously. I walked over and peeked over his shoulder. It was a book about reptiles. My face could've split apart in two with how big I was grinning. He saw me smiling and simply rolled his eyes. He paged through the book slowly, taking time to admire the structure of their bodies, the vibrant colors and designs, the different oddities that made them unique.

"Why is it leaking blood from its eyes?" Well, that's an interesting question.

"What?" He pointed at a picture of a lizard with blood squirting from its eyes.

"Ah, the Horned Lizard. It's a defense mechanism." Sunny looked at me dubiously.

"I'm serious!" I laughed. He didn't change expressions, so I took the book from him and sat down on the floor in a corner. I patted the spot next to me. He looked mutinous. I sighed.

"I guess you'll never learn why Horned Lizards eject blood from their eyes then." I dramatically sounded dejected.

"I can just look it up." He said, crossing his arms and tapping his temple.

"If that were true, you wouldn't have asked me." I smiled sweetly at him. He hesitated, and then sighed in defeat. I grinned in victory. He sat next to me Indian style, and I envied him. Damn this confounded dress.

"When a Horned Lizard is confronted by a predator, it squirts blood out of its eyes, with impressive aim actually, to scare the predator away. See?" I pointed to a paragraph and he nodded silently. I smiled slightly. He never was one to say much. He could say so many things in his actions. For example, he was pointing at side by side comparison of a Coral and King snake. This was going to take a while.

I don't know how long we sat there, him pointing at pictures and me explaining them to the best of my ability. I had to change my seating arrangements countless of times, cursing every single dress known to man a couple time. It got late, and I was extremely tired. Sunny bought a cheap sketch book to draw on, as well as colored pencils, and had preoccupied himself for the past hour. I played Fruit Ninja on my iPhone, my head resting comfortably against his side. I got bored quickly and again moved because the dress wanted me to.

"How the hell does anyone wear this?" I mutter to myself.

"I don't know what you're worrying about." Sunny mumbled absently, eyes still trained on his paper.

"I just don't like the open space. I'd much rather have my legs completely covered, especially in November." I explained.

"If it's any solace, you look nice." Did…did he just compliment me?

"For a human." He added. Well, there goes that dream. I'll take what I can get, though.

"Thanks." I chuckled lowly. A couple more minutes, and Sunstreaker placed a sheet of paper folded in half next to me. On the outside was a small message scrawled across:

_ Don't open this until you get home. _

I snorted in derision, and looked at him questioningly.

"When am I going home?"

"Now." He replied curtly, standing up and helping me up as well. We walked out the store and lo and behold, there was the flashy yellow Lamborghini I knew and loved. We got in, but as soon as the door closed, Sunny's holoform dissipated into nothing. The windows were tinted black, so he had nothing to worry about. The ride home was silent, but I was too tired to strike up conversation. My house came into view, and I could see my mother's car in the driveway. Uh oh. I shrank back into the seat, and timidly said," Thanks for the ride, Goldilocks." A hand cuffed my head and a small growl came behind me. I grinned fondly.

"Don't call me that." The door opened for me and I got out. I waved and the holoform waved back before taking off. I took a deep breath before entering the house. Lights off. Complete darkness. It was too good to be true. I creeped up the stairs to my room, making sure not to make a sound before I entered my room and closed the door softly. First thing I did was take off the horrendous dress. My jammies consisted of a loose black tank-top and red basketball shorts. Heaven doesn't describe the pure joy I felt from wearing pants again. I was about to pass out for the night before I remembered the paper Sunny gave me. I opened it up.

I nearly died.

It was a drawing of the most realistic and beautiful snake I had ever seen. The coils, the scales, the shine off of its body from the light, everything was just absolutely phenomenal. It looked so deadly and lethal, yet graceful and flawless. It was a mixture of different hues of violet. They all blended so well I had to blink repeatedly to remind my eyes they were different colors. Its posture was tense and ready to strike, but what I noticed was the eyes.

They were  _ my _ eyes. Right down to the point. No question about it.

I sent Sideswipe a quick text:

_ When you get the chance, tell Sunny that there are no words to describe how gratuitous I am to him and that this is the most amazing picture I've ever seen in my entire life. _

I slept with the picture pressed against my heart that night.


	12. Chapter 12

I roused from my slumber to the most agitating sound ever created on this Earth. The persistent beeping of an alarm clock. Grumbling, and muttering a few choice words under my breath, I fumbled around and blindly flailed my hand on the nightstand, hoping to make contact with the infernal object. A few failed attempts later, the sound finally stopped. Sweet, sweet bliss.

I stretched languidly, and my ears perked at the sound of crumpling paper. Curiously, I dug out the page that had found its way underneath my tummy. The contents on said page made me smile warmly, the warmth spreading into the region that would be called my "heart". It was the picture Sunstreaker drew for me. I almost forgot I had slept with it in my hands. Carefully, I uncreased the folded lines that I incidentally created and straightened it as best as I could. It was still absolutely breathtaking.

I yawned for approximately 10 seconds, and then closed my eyes sleepily, letting the rays of sun hit my face, warming me up like a cold-blooded reptile. I was slow to let my thought process slide into place among the usual grogginess, but when it did, it did so with a click.

I had told off most of my family tree at dinner last night. I had run off, without telling my mom, and then practically snuck back inside without alerting her of my presence. I checked the time. 8:57 A.M., the time mom usually was already up and running.  _ Shit. _

I bolted out of bed, eyes most likely filled with an emotion akin to urgency. Or fear, give or take.

I ran out my room, and tried to run down the stairs without letting my steps be heard. I could hear  _ Trauma: Stories from the E.R.  _ playing on the T.V. in the kitchen. I crept closer, peeking around the corner. There she was, in her green scrubs and eating yogurt. The one person I had probably shamed for life in a fit of childish rage.

I slowly and silently walked up behind her, and waited patiently for her to turn around. And waited.

And waited. She seemed pretty fixed on the T.V. right now. Couldn't blame her, someone was currently trying to stop the bleeding from a stab wound. While I had the time, I thought of how I was going to apologize. I had never been good at apologizing. It was always uncomfortable, awkward, never making eye contact, never knowing what exactly to say. Should I be direct and tell her how sorry I was, do I play it off like what I said was not that big of a deal, do I act like the kid in the principal's office that looks at the floor and mutters a half-assed sorry when they're not really sorry at all?

Mom turned around and yelped in surprise at my sudden appearance and I pretty much glomped onto her.

"I'm so sorry Mom, I'm so so so so so so sorry, I didn't mean too, it just came out, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" I wailed into her shirt. I had clearly taken option D: babble like a 4-year old.

"Jenny, what in God's name- would you please let go?" Mom was trying to pry me off of her waist, and I held on tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Mama, I'm sorry I yelled at everyone! I didn't mean for it to happen, I just lost control, it won't happen again, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" I whispered the last bit, hiding my face in her shirt, trembling slightly. I heard a sigh, and a hand was placed on top of my head.

"Jenny…" I didn't move.

"Jen…" I still didn't move.

"Jennifer." I lifted my head a smidge, peeking at her face with the corners of my eye.

"You don't need to apologize." …I'm sorry, what?

"How can you say that? I screamed my head off at Grandma What's-her-face and everyone else, called out dad in front of everyone including his girlfriend, and pretty much shamed what's left of our family. How can you say I have nothing to apologize for?" I asked, completely bewildered at the lack of anger that was aimed at me. Another sigh followed before my mom began again.

"Did you go over the top? Yes. Are we probably not being invited to any family events ever again? Absolutely. But the fact is that you made a point. You said the things I've wanted to say, but was always too scared to. You stood up for yourself, not in front of friends or bullies, but your own family. That took guts, kiddo. How can I be angry when all you did was stick up for, well us? Was I pissed that you left me there all by myself with the rest of the wolves? You bet your ass I was. But I'm still proud of you, in a twisted kind of way." Mom soothed.

Can I just take the time to say that I am so lucky to have her as a mother?

"Also, it's Grandma Donna, by the way." She chuckled. So THAT'S what her name is!

I pulled away from her and she cupped my face while her thumbs wiped under my eyes.

"Mom, I'm not crying!" I laughed, batting her hands away.

"Mm, you look like you're about to, I'm just taking precautions." She teased back. I simply shook my head, and embraced her again.

"So, you're not mad?" I question, making sure there was nothing I was missing.

"Oh, you have dish duty for a month plus laundry, but other than that, no. We're good." Damn, there was always a catch.

"I'm fine with that." I shrugged nonchalantly as I started pouring myself some breakfast.

"You'll have to start on Monday though, since you won't be here this weekend." Mom sighed. She's been doing that a lot. I looked up at her confused until the last few pieces of the puzzle snapped into place. Double shit.

"Damn, I forgot to tell you, Katie called and said a certain "Jazz" was coming to pick both of you up. 10 O' clock to be precise. I looked at the oven timer. 9:20.

_ You have got to be fucking kidding me. _

I scrambled out the kitchen yelling," I have to get ready I have to get ready!" repeatedly, rushing to get everything done in 40 minutes. I took a shower at neck-breaking speed, and put on the same black tank-top and military cargo pants that we had been given the first time we had stayed at base. I grabbed a small drawstring bag, put a few necessities in it, fed Emerald, and was about to run out the door when something dawned on me. Diego Garcia was an island. Which meant it was surrounded by ocean. This meant there were beaches…

I eyed my old volleyball that had been collecting dust in my closet since the season ended. Never too late to practice. I shot Katie a quick message to pack another thing she would need, and she replied with an affirmative. I looked back at the clock. 9:58. I'm just that good.

I ran back down the stairs, and saw that mom was gone. She must've gone to work already. I scribbled a quick note about how long to leave the basking lamp on for Emerald, when to mist her if she overheats, and left it on the kitchen for her to see when the doorbell rang. Again, I looked at the clock. 10:00. Damn, they were accurate.

I slung the small bag over my shoulder, and headed towards the door. Upon opening it, I was met with the grinning face of Jazz.

"Jazz!" I beamed.

"Hey there lil' lady." He greeted. Again, we engaged in a series of complicated hand twists and turns that is too tedious to describe, so insert whatever cool handshake you imagine here. Jazz eyed my outfit, and raised an eyebrow behind his silver sunglasses.

"Yo' sure tha' you an' Katie aren't twins?" He asked.

"Pretty sure. Why?" Jazz pointed at his alt mode, and there was Katie waving energetically, yet wearing the exact thing I was.

"Great minds think alike, I guess." I shrugged. Jazz snorted under his breath, "Great minds…"

I playfully smacked him on the arm and he just smiled. I swear, he is just the epitome of laidback. On the way to the car, I held my arms, rubbing my hands up and down them to brush off the November chill. Sweet Ghandi, it was cold.

I climbed into the back with Kat, and off we were. I was immediately pounced on with questions.

"What happened at the dinner last night?" Katie almost looked too eager for the answer.

I pushed her face away, and sighed.

"Well, I cut my hand on a potato peeler from overhearing a story about a woman's breasts," I raised my hand dryly. "My future career was belittled, I suffered being bitten by a 5-year old, I saw my dad, I had to wear a dress, and I exploded on the entire dinner table to stay out of me and my mom's life. So, things happened." I finished up. It was silent for a few seconds before Katie bombarded me with more questions.

"What did you say? What did they say? What'd you do afterwards? Is your mom angry at you?" It seems to me like she's picking up a few tendencies from Bluestreak.

"If I answer your questions, will you drop it?" I asked irritated. I didn't like being reminded of the words that had been exchanged last night. She sat still in her sat and nodded.

"Okay. Basically, told them to frag off, that's the short version, I don't know what they said afterwards because I ran off, I hungoutwithsunnyforawhile, and my mom isn't angry no. End of discussion." I quickly spouted out the last bit and quickly turned my head away.

"Whoa whoa, wait! What was that bit I heard bout' Sunny?" Jazz interrupted, the amusement shining clear in his voice that reverberated around the car.

"Nothing." I spoke calmly.

"Not what I heard! I heard somethin' bout' you hangin' with Sunny. Isn' that righ', Kat?"

"Yup!" Damn traitor.

"Okay, yeah, so Sideswipe sent him to me because he thought I needed cheering up, and we just sat in a bookstore for a while. I taught him about reptiles." I explained.

"That sounds…significantly more mundane than what I was expecting." Katie responded, sounding a little let down.

"He drew me a picture." I supplied, taking it out of one of my many pockets and unfolding it so she could see. Her reaction was very similar to when I first saw it.

"Jen, this is gorgeous! How long'd it take him?!" She exclaimed, nothing short of amazed.

"A couple hours I think." I said, smirking at her even more shocked expression.

"Here, lemme see." Jazz insisted, his holoform coming up again so that he could look at it. An impressed whistle came from him, and he turned around to look at me, that same shit-eating grin I had seen on Sideswipe so many times plastered on his face. It was a little unnerving.

"You must be one hell've a friend for him to draw you somethin' like dis." Jazz chuckled, giving me my drawing back. I stuffed it back in my pocket, and crossed my arms while looking out the window huffily. But with Jazz, conversation could never be over.

"Jen, where's your phone?"

"Why?"

"Music." He said simply. Oh yeah. Didn't think he would remember that. I dug it out of my bag, and handed it over to his holoform, who swiftly plugged it into a USB port and handed it right back. His holoform sizzled out and his instructions were," Choose whatever yo' heart's desire." Oh, this was gonna be hecka fun. Katie grinned at me deviously.

**XxXxX**

A couple minutes later, we had driven through the space bridge and "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore was blaring out of Jazz' lowered windows. So many priceless expressions were aimed at the Pontiac Solstice. Jazz cut off his engine, which in effect cut off the music, but that didn't stop me and Katie from humming it. I reached back inside, and unplugged my phone before Jazz transformed into his regular self. Every time I saw it, it still made all the air in my lungs just up and disappear.

"Well, you guys are here early." I turned around to see Lennox and Epps heading toward us, smiles on their faces.

"Lennox! Epps!" We both ran over and hugged them. They laughed and hugged back, Epps going the extra mile to raise me off my feet and swing me around.

"Epps, old chum, buddy, pal; you're exerting pressure on my lungs!" I wheezed. I was finally released from the snuggle prison of doom, I brofisted each of them.

"Nice to see your faces again. Things were getting a little boring with the dramatic decrease of Ironhide's cannons being hijacked to shoot paint balls, or getting our system hacked just to test how secure it is." Lennox grinned, pointedly looking at each of us for our respective crimes. Katie sniggered, and I just gave him my most innocent looking face.

"The Twins made me do it!"

"Bull _ shit _ . You looked pretty damn proud of yourself when Ironhide shot at Sunstreaker and Sides, which then caused Sunstreaker to almost dismantle 'Hide. There's no way they would've helped you with that."

"Blame them anyway, they were my influence."

"We are, are we?" God. Damn. It. I turned around to see the smirking grin of Sideswipe and the impassive face of Sunstreaker. They were in their regular modes, and Sides was swiveling back and forth on his wheels, like a hyperactive child with too much energy.

"I was not the one who stole blueprints from Wheeljack's lab and then just left them lying around for any devious human to read." I defended.

"I blame that on Sides." Sunstreaker prompted, looking bored standing there. Sideswipe turned and glared at his brother, before reverting back to his cheerful expression towards me.

"We've taught her well." Sides chuckled, ruffling my hair gently with his giant metallic finger.

"If you mean morphed into a more dangerous, evil, unpredictable child than she was before she met you as taught, then sure, you did a great fragging job." Katie snorted.

"I am right here. I can hear everything you're saying." I announced, lost as to how this became about me.

"Oh she knows, she just doesn't care." Bluestreak!

"Blue!" Katie and I called out simultaneously, Kat more enthusiastic about it than me. Sideswipe's finger lifted off my head. I looked over my shoulder to see him straighten himself alongside his twin, eyeing Bluestreak with something in his optics. Curious.

"Hey guys!" Blue always had this cheery disposition that wanted you to just hug him, he was so adorable. Blue lowered his hand, and Katie scampered on it quickly before turning to me and waving at all of us.

"I'll see you later, Jen!" And just like that, they were off. That was the quickest in and out I have ever seen. Like, wow. Yes, Bluestreak, I'm doing fine, how are you? I simply shrugged it off.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to be going too. Battle plans to map out and all that military stuff. See you 'round Jen." Lennox gave a lazy salute and began walking towards another corridor.

"Call of Duty later, I want to see you there!" Epps yelled, smiling bright before running to catch up with Lennox.

"Aww, don't leave me with them by myself!" I yelled back half-heartedly. He was already gone.

"Y'know," Sides began, crouching again to my level," I get the distinct expression you're embarrassed of me."

"Me? Never!" If only he knew… "Now transform your aft so I can get a hug!"

Sideswipe seemed absolutely elated at that suggestion. It took a matter of 5 seconds before the shiny, cherry red Lamborghini was parked in front of me and a holoform materialized in front of me, lunging and suffocating me in the equivalent of an anaconda squeeze. To make matters worse, he spun me around, making me groan with discomfort. Why did I suggest this?

"Sides, if you hug any tighter, you're gonna collapse a lung." I gasped, trying to show Sunny my desperation to live. Bastard didn't do a damn thing. I was dropped thankfully, and I rubbed my sternum, playfully shoving Sideswipe's face. Sides grabbed my arm, and flipped me to where I was on his back, piggy-back style. How does he do these things? He seemed pretty damn happy with himself too.

"Are you guys done acting like sparklings?" Sunny asked, clearly impatient with our antics. You are just a ray of sunshine, aren't you? Pun intended.

"We're having fun, Sunny. You can join too, if you ask nicely." Sides frowned.

"Sides…" Sunny warned.

"Fine." Sides sighed before sliding me off his back. What a shame, I was enjoying the warmth he seemed to radiate. That and he smelled nice.

The holoform sizzled out and Sides was back to his normal, giant self.

"Sorry, princess, Sunny and I have patrol." Sunstreaker smacked his brother upside the head and growled.

"Don't call me that!" Sides payed it no mind and kept going.

"Next time, Mmkay?" Sides smiled and gave a quick wink.

"Sure, I can take a raincheck." I said, shrugging no problem. I gave a small two-fingered salute, and they left. I was now alone in this big empty hangar. Relying mostly on memory, my feet led me to the human-sized Rec room. There were quite a few people here, mostly watching sports on the T.V. while some played Foos ball, and others just chilled and relaxed. I didn't direct any attention to me when I entered, so that was a plus. I sat in a lone chair, a little to the side of everything, and sat criss-crossed, pulling out my phone and occupying myself.

I don't recall how long it had been, but I do know that while I was lost in my own little world, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up, and there was an older male looking down at me, a little fidgety.

"Hi, um, so, we need another person for our team, and you're the only one that's in here currently, so we wondering if you'd like to play? You don't have to, if you don't want to of course but…" The older male said to me, continuously looking between me and his buddies on the couch with game controllers. He seemed pretty nervous for no reason, it's not like I'll bite.

I shrugged and replied with a simple, "Sure." Said older male seemed momentarily surprised that I accepted his offer, but recovered and grinned.

"Great! Hey guys, we've got our final player!" Cue men on couch whooping with excitement.

"What are we playing?" I asked timidly.

"Mario Kart." Anonymous person #1 stated. I blanked. Grown men in the military that fought 'Cons for a living were playing Mario Kart. This world is just all kinds of awesome. I sat myself on the top ledge of the couch, right above everyone's head, slightly teetering on the balance of falling on everyone and falling on my ass on the ground. There were eight people in total including me, and since there were only 4 multiplayers available, we split up into turns. 2 people from each team would race each other, and then switch with other team members for each race until the winner was present. Seemed pretty legit. I was picked as one of the first people to go. I chose my character, King Boo. All day, every day.

"Any requests for tracks?" Anonymous person #2 asked.

"Mushroom Gorge." I replied, as well as another guy. We looked at each other, and gave each other a respectful nod. The race began. Whooah.

**XxXxX**

We played for what seemed like hours, which it was. It wasn't until someone did a time check that we realized it was dinner. Don't even ask me how that's even possible, I'm still trying to figure that out for myself. I learned everyone's names too, which was surprising because I'm usually not good at remembering those kinds of things. Their names were Ian, Brandon, Kevin, Melvin, Sloan, Nick, and Tanner. Don't worry, I don't expect you remember those names at all, just some side information. They were all new recruits, which kind of explained how we so easily bonded over Mario Kart. We were currently arguing and throwing fries and oranges at each other.

"Dude, I'm just saying, maybe other people would like to have a turn at King Boo!" Brandon argued, taking a bite out of his cheeseburger.

"Like I've told you a million times already, I claimed King Boo for all eternity! Besides, you were the one who kept saying Bowser was yours!" I argued back, shoveling some of Nick's fries into my mouth. In retaliation, he took a bite out of my pizza.

"Yeah, until I realized how much Bowser sucks!"

"Broski, you should've realized that Bowser's huge ass would make him the slowest one by default." Tanner rationalized.

"Yeah, tell me this now. You guys are great." Brandon did not like admitting he was wrong, evidently.

"Brandon, don't try arguing with her. You're going to lose because A) she's a chick and B) you've already lost to her countless times, don't add another one to that list." Ian joked, causing most of the table to laugh. Brandon sulked and downed his food before belching. And thus started a competition which I didn't want to apart of. I sat there passively, trying not to breathe.

"Hold on!" Sloan exclaimed, cutting off Melvin from what looked like was going to be a pretty good one.

"What?" Mel glared.

"Have you noticed that King Boo over here hasn't left the table yet?" Now this did intrigue them. This is what happens when the military recruits right out of high school.

"Gentlemen, I introduce to you the future of the female generation." Nick fanned out his hands over me like he was selling an amazing product.

"You're just awful, you know that?" I laughed, taking more of his fries and stuffing them into my face, enjoying the salty, fried, potato sticks of deliciousness.

"It's true though!" Nick defended, swatting my greedy hands away and shoveling more of my pizza into his face hole. I might as well give up on eating that thing; it was pretty much gone with those two bites.

"You can't deny that most girls don't really like being around "gross" things."

"Yeah, maybe when  _ you _ were in high school, but things are a little different. I'm not saying that they're aren't still girls like that out there, I can name a few off the top of my head, but nowadays girls are a smidge more tolerable. At least girls like me anyway. Not that there's a lot of those." I reasoned, nimbly switching Nick and I's plates to where I could eat his fries at a more comfortable distance, and vice versa with my Italian created, greasy triangle of cheese and pepperoni slices. Nick seemed to consider this and was just starting to open his mouth when a yell came from across the room.

"JENNY!"

I think my heart just exploded in a sudden fit of panic.

Epps stormed across the cafeteria, completely oblivious to the drastic drop in volume around him and the looks he was receiving, and stopped right in front of our table, a glare fixed straight on me.

"What the hell happened to game night? Me and Will have been waiting forever for you!" Epps scolded.

Oh yeah. Call of Duty. That was a thing. Whoops.

Sheepishly smiling, I stood up and began walking behind Epps, like a dog with its tail between its legs. I waved to the group of compatible men that were looking slightly confused as to what just occurred but waved back nonetheless.

Upon arrival to the rec room, a controller was thrown at my face. Thank every deity for my lightning-quick reflexes.

"Lennox!" I exclaimed, clearly surprised.

"What?" Lennox questioned, but looking way too innocent for my taste.

"…The hell?" I enunciated the fact that the controller almost hit me in the face, waving it around spastically like a frustrated child who couldn't figure out how the magician took a quarter out of his ear.

To my irritation, he just shrugged unhelpfully and replied simply," You were taking too long."

I trudged over mock-exasperated, muttering "Afthole" under my breath.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Red flag right there! You are not allowed to call us any curse word, English  _ or _ Cybertronian!" Lennox just laid down the law right there.

"Well this is new. What's up with the whole curse thing? You've never called me out on it before." I ask curiously as I plopped down on my spot on the couch.

"Will's trying to learn how to be assertive ever since Annabelle became a teenager last week." Epps snickered. I looked over to Lennox with disbelieving horror.

"Will.  _ No. _ "

"Yeah." Lennox sighed, running a hand through his buzz cut. Epps snickered louder at his friend's distress, and I smacked him upside the head for it. Turning my attention back to Lennox, I patted his shoulder in an empathetic gesture of friendship.

"It will be alright, Will. You'll pull through." I smiled grimly, giving him my best sympathies.

"I'll find a way." Lennox merely shrugged. "But that's for another time; right now it's time for your ass to get kicked at Call of Duty." Whooah.

**XxXxX**

The sun passing through the window shined on my face, slowly rousing me from sleep and warming me up at the same time. It turns out I got my ass kicked thoroughly last night. Call of Duty is not my forte. Epps is never going to let me live it down either. Yawning, I stretched out all my limbs, feeling my back pop comfortably. I lied there for a minute, letting my eyes slowly get used to opening and closing. Lethargically turning, I saw Katie still sleeping. Figures. Gracelessly flopping on my belly and looking at the clock, I saw it was only 7 in the morning.

Excellent.

Rising out of bed, I crossed over to Katie's bed, and gently shook her.

"Kat, get up. It's morning." A grumble. A shift in the covers. Stillness and silence. Okay, soft awakening over. I ripped the covers off her bed and clapped my hands loudly in front of her face.

"Let me repeat that, I don't think you heard me. Get up, Katie." Katie scrunched up her face, and groaned. One eye opened, and then the other. If looks could kill, my existence would be scalded from this Earth.

"Why must you be so aggressive in everything you do?" Katie mumbled, clenching her eyes shut and inhaling deeply.

"I tried being nice once. You squandered that opportunity. So I went to plan B." I simply shrugged.

Katie sat up and stretched before slumping back down, looking blearily at the covers. She looked over to the clock and did a double-take. "It's fricking 7 A.M.! What the hell did you wake me up for?"

I snapped my finger and pointed at the volleyball lying in the corner. Katie quirked an eyebrow and gave a small smile. "Practice?" I nodded and grinned. Sighing, she finally rose out of bed and started looking through her belongings.

"I call shower." Damn it.

**XxXxX**

"C'mon, Jenny. You're slacking."

"I get rusty quickly, leave me alone."

"How can you be rusty? Our season just ended!"

Katie and I were simply passing the ball back and forth, a small warm up. The sun felt so nice, not too hot to where it felt like it was melting my skin off, but enough to feel nice and toasty. I liked the beach. Sand was one of my favorite textures. Small, grainy particles rubbing and exfoliating your skin. Like Nature's sandpaper. A good hour had passed with us just setting and bumping to each other, general conversation flowing between us.

"Alright, time for your favorite." Katie spun the ball in her hands, dusting sand off of it. We didn't know who did it, but there was a convenient net conveniently placed on the beach for our convenient convenience. Ducking under said convenient net, I took my place and got in ready position. Katie tossed the ball up high.

Three steps, come up on left leg, let the arm follow all the way through, and  _ boom _ . The ball crashed back into the ground, causing sand to lift up around it. Satisfaction rolled through me and Katie was shaking her head at me.

"Remind me to never get you angry enough to slap me." Katie smiled wryly.

This went on for a while, roles being switched on occasion. It was pleasant, being able to spend time with Katie while a gentle breeze waved over from the ocean, cooling the sweat on our bodies. With the sun rolling high in the sapphire sky, it was getting way too fragging hot. **~10 bonus points for which movie this is from.**

Thankfully, we were prepared. I slipped off the black tank top to reveal a simple gray bikini top with a purple star on one side. We weren't in the middle of the beach either. We were playing near where the break line in the trees, so there was some shade and the sand didn't get too unbearably hot.

"So, you going to try out for next year?" I asked nonchalantly, throwing the ball up high and observing Katie jump up and spike it back down.

"Yeah, probably. If there's a chance for athletic scholarships, I'll take it. You?"

"Most definitely. Besides the fact that it's the only sport I actually enjoy playing, it gets me out of 7th hour if there's a game and it helps me stay in shape, so win-win scenario right there." I replied.

Katie hummed thoughtfully, and was just about to open up her mouth again before an interruption came about.

"You are surprisingly hard to find." In came the Twins. The two walked lazily down to the beach, their alt modes staying hidden in the trees. I don't think Sunstreaker would be too happy if sand found its way into his undercarriage.

"Maybe it's because I didn't  _ want _ to be found." My tone suggested I was annoyed, but my face proved otherwise. It was always nice to see those two.

"What are you up to so early in the day? Usually you're not awake until now." Sunstreaker questioned curiously, stopping in front of me, Sideswipe next to him with his arms crossed. I tossed the ball up in one hand and caught it with the other.

"Volleyball."

"Mind if we join you?"

I cocked my hip to one side with the ball resting on it, and looked over to Katie. She took my expression as the answer.

"You may, but don't be too disappointed when we reign victorious. Jenny always gets competitive, and when she does, she wins." I almost felt like she was pawning me off in a horse race.

Both twins grinned the same grin, and it made me slightly uneasy. I knew what these two were capable of. Sort of. They could make the ball explode with paint if they wanted it to.

"Challenge accepted." Sideswipe smirked, his head tilted and his eyes slightly narrowed like he always looked when he was planning. I shrugged, and turned around to the handmade serving line.

"Game to 25 points, 3 hits only, if it's on the line it's in, and  _ no _ cheating. Ever. Got it?" I announced over my shoulder as I walked forward, juggling the ball on my forearms as I did so.

"Yeah, we got it, Princess." Sides called back over. I smiled and turned back around to face them.

I stopped dead.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had taken off their shirts. And oh my.

Lean muscles rippled under sun kissed skin, the indented lines on their torso proudly enhancing the six-pack they had going on. With every step they took, I could see muscle undulating, flexing and unflexing, showing off for their owners. The sun made them glow naturally, and it was highly distracting.  _ All _ of it was highly distracting. Strong arms, flat stomach, toned legs, just everything about them  _ screamed _ testosterone.

Sunstreaker took in a deep breath. His chest expanded and it made his midsection look that more entrancing.

Sideswipe ran a hand through his hair. His arm bulged slightly in the bicep, and it made my mouth go dry. He looked at me and his face turned smug.

"Like what you see?"

I slammed the ball over the net and past their heads, it whizzing by and thunking against a nearby tree. Sunny whistled.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Sideswipe laughed.

This was gonna be a long game.


	13. Chapter 13

On the outside, I was completely calm. On the inside, I was whining and moaning like a little bitch. So, it turns out that they picked up skill really quickly. And they used said picked up skill to secure a win, and on Sideswipes part, rub it in my face.

"Y'know, I was kinda expecting a challenge." Sideswipe relentlessly teased, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

"Shut up, Sideswipe." I grumped. Those had been the only words I had spoken for the past 3 minutes.

"I thought you said you were good at volleyball, what happened?"

"Shut up, Sideswipe."

"Didn't you say you always won when you got competitive?"

"Shut  _ up _ , Sideswipe."

"We can go easy on you next time if you want." I really wanted to punch him in his smug face.

"Sideswipe, if you do not let this go, I will take this hand, put it through your throat, and rip out your vocal cords." I was vaguely aware that Katie and Sunny were looking at us with an expression of irritancy at our childness.

"You mean the same hand that let you down and cost you the game?" Oh, I was so sick of this bullshit.

The ball that had previously been in my hand as were walking back to base, the Twins alt mode following idly behind us, had now found its way into Sideswipes face.

"Ow! The frag?" Sideswipe looked at me like a puppy that had been kicked for the first time by its abusive owner.

"Don't pay her any mind, Sides," Katie called over from behind. "She's just a sore loser."

"I'd be more tolerable if this jerk face would stop gloating about it!" I defended, picking up the ball that rolled back to my feet and dusted it off.

"Aw, c'mon I was just kidding." Sides smiled easily. I merely "hmphed" and turned on my heel to continue on walking.

"Jenny."

"…"

"Jen."

"…"

"Princess." Resolve, don't you crumble on me. You stay strong.

"Fluffernutter." Damn you, resolve. Damn you to hell. Sides came up and slung an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me slightly in a side hug. "You can't stay mad at your best friends forever." My brain was acutely aware that he still had not put on a shirt, and the heat from his abdomen that was pressing into my arm seeped through my skin. My stomach churned and quivered minutely. Weird. Must be because I'm hungry, we had skipped breakfast.

"Excuse me?" Katie looked affronted, sensing her title was in danger. Sideswipe looked back at her and smirked.

"You're excused. Now as I was saying-"

"Oh hell no!" Katie slapped Sides arm away and shoved him aside, taking his place. "See, I am Jenny's one and  _ only _ best friend. You are not. She agrees with me on this." Katie snapped her head to me with a certain fire in her eyes. "Say you agree with me!"

"I agree with you!" I said quickly, leaning back a bit at how close she was to my face.

"See?" Katie smiled sweetly. "She agrees with me."

I decided to let them argue and slowed my pace to match that of Sunny's, who was watching everything silently and with crossed arms. There was something of a calm expression mixed with annoyance while he was forced to observe Sideswipe and Katie squabbling. He looked like he really wanted to transform and get out of his holoform.

"You're quiet." I commented, ignoring the two in front of us.

"Saying something would put me in the conversation, something I really don't want to do. Besides, I have nothing  _ to _ say." Sunstreaker replied curtly, but putting out the effort to look at me while he talked. My mind decided to notice how the slight shade of the trees made his eyes look crystal clear azure at the moment. My stomach quivered once again. Damn, my body must be really craving food. I let one side of my face quirk up into a grin before turning to the front of the pack.

"Hey Kat, I'll race you to the mess hall." I flashed her a grin with an eyebrow raised in challenge.

"Oh, you're on." She giggled, shoving me aside before running. I chucked my volleyball at her back and she shrieked before laughing, stumbling enough for me to catch up. We both left the Twins in the dust, occasionally trying to trip the other up, both of us running out of breath quickly on the account that we were laughing the whole way. For a split moment, I could forget about the Autobots and Decepticons and school and family dinners and just have this fleeting moment of peace. It felt like before with Katie and me, where we didn't have to hold this huge National Security secret that made us targets. We could be normal teenage girls, desperately attempting to get the other to face plant in the dirt while we sprinted towards victory. Yup, totally what normal teenage girls do.

We ended up in a tie somehow, neither Katie nor I willing to admit defeat when we entered at the same time. Not even a heated match of rock-paper-scissors could settle it. We shrugged it off, before going to get some grub. I had made something of an acquaintance with one of the chefs from the time we spent back in what could be described as Witness Protection. I made the effort of saying hi to him and asking him how his day was going, and in reward he'd slip me a piece of garlic bread or sometimes watermelon. It wasn't in season at the moment. His name was Eduardo, and he looked to be in 60's. Our relationship was not unlike a grandfather slipping a piece of candy into his granddaughter's hand when her parents weren't looking.

This was how I ended up with an extra biscuit added to my fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Katie called me an ass kisser under her breath. I told her to be quiet and eat her salad.

**XxXxX**

We were milling around aimlessly around the base, talking about nothing important, when Bluestreak came around the corner and transformed, careful not to step on us. We humans are such fragile creatures. Blue grinned brightly and kneeled down to our level.

"Hey guys! Are you enjoying your stay here, I mean you probably are since you guys love it here and stuff and you willingly came here, hey I was wondering if you guys would come watch a movie with me." Blue, you goddamn adorable Datsun.

"We're enjoying our stay very much, Blue." I chuckled, patting his faceplate fondly. "We'd love to watch a movie." Katie nodded eagerly, and Blue beamed.

"Oh good, because I wanted to watch this one thing but I wasn't sure I should watch it by myself because it looked kinda scary but it looked really cool too so if I watch it with company then it shouldn't be all that scary."

"What movie is it?" Kat asked.

"You'll see."

**XxXxX**

Throughout the movie, it was difficult to pay attention when Katie and Bluestreak were whispering to each other, Kat answering Blue's curious questions. Hushed laughter would sound on occasion, which would distract me because when they were laughing, it was during a moment that they shouldn't be laughing.

Like for instance, Sally lamenting on how she doesn't think she is worthy of Jack Skellington. Brilliant.

Then they would settle down and actually watch it, but Jack crashing to the Earth in his sleigh and the werewolf crying had Kat scoot closer to Blue, who in turn put an arm around her. Whether it was to reassure her or himself, I didn't know, nor did I speculate on for long because Primus behold himself, the Twins walked into the Rec Room.

"Hey, Jenny, we've been looking for yo-"

"Excuse you." I interrupted. "We are clearly in the middle of watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Keep your voices down." Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both rolled their optics, before plopping down on the couch next to Blue, Sides scooping me up and placing me on Sunny's shoulder. However, once on, I realized that with how well kept his armor was, the waxed and glossy metal was quite slippery. I almost fell off and by instinct reached out and grasped a cable in his neck to keep from plummeting. Sunny's gaze snapped to me, eye ridge raised. I slowly retracted my hand and put it in my lap.

"Careful." He murmured, before letting his optics slide back to the screen. I nodded, smiling a little at what could be called Sunny's caring side. Or at least, what little he showed of it. I settled for simply leaning against his neck, enjoying the warmth his golden plating gave off. A problem I have with watching a movie I've already seen is that my mind tends to wander, since I know what's going to happen and how it's going to end. So that's what my mind did during the scene with Jack crashing to the Earth in the sleigh and the werewolf crying. It wandered like a child in a K-Mart.

Nothing in particular really, just superficial things like school, getting a driver's license, a job, boy's volleyball in spring, what I wanted for Christmas. A new laptop would be nice, since Decepticons fried my old one to no repair. Maybe some new shoes. My converses were getting  _ really _ worn out.

I don't know when, but with the combination of the heat given off by Sunny and aimless thinking, I started to drift off into a light snooze.

**XxXxX**

You know that phase of consciousness where you're asleep, but you're still alert of your surroundings, so sometimes you're not sure if what you're hearing or feeling is a dream or not? Yeah, something like that happened. I could feel myself moving, but the comfortable warmth had dissipated and I could feel the slight chill of the AC. It also felt like I was…swaying? Like something was moving side to side, sort of? My eyes were being stubborn and they wouldn't allow me to see where I was or where I was being taken to. It was strangely quiet too. I couldn't hear anyone talking, but there was definitely something carrying me. My mind supplied maybe an Autobot was carrying me, since they had comm links and didn't have to speak out loud. A niggling part of my brain whispered  _ Twin's spark bond _ . Well thank you brain, what an astute observation. The movement ceased for a minute before I felt a sharp jolt and warm air flowing over me, most likely from someone venting. My eyes finally decided to open, and after a moment of adjusting I found myself in Sideswipe's hand, both him and his twin lounging on the custom-sized couch.

"Did you guys finish the movie?" I yawned absently. They had turned on the TV and were watching something about cars. How ironic.

"Yeah, as much as what was left of it. It was weird." Sideswipe answered. I could see where they were coming from. "Just one question. Who's Santa Claus?"

Oh God. This was going to be like explaining why the sky was blue to a toddler.

"Uh. I'm not entirely sure how to answer that." I started off hesitantly, trying to figure out where to start as to not confuse them. "Santa is… a famous icon of Christmas. He gives presents to children who have been good all year and coal for those who have been bad." My explanation only wrought out more confusion.

"What's Christmas?" This time, it came from Sunny.

"Oh sweet Christ, okay, umm…Christmas is a human holiday…it's on December 25th…it's supposed to be a celebration of good times and being with family and if you're religious, Jesus. It's in less than a month actually. You get gifts from people and you give gifts in return to show them that you appreciate them. I think? That you're thankful for everything you have?" This was hard. Sunny's brow furrowed.

"Isn't that what Thanksgiving is for?" Hmm. He had a point.

"Well, yeah, but Christmas is different."

"How?"

"Because you get stuff."

"Thanksgiving you get food, and food qualifies as stuff." Sideswipe pointed out.

"…But people don't max out their credit cards during Thanksgiving to buy people gifts like iPads or Kindle Fires."

"So hold on." Sideswipe lifted me onto the top cushion and plopped me there so he could look at me eye level instead of looking down at his hand. "So Christmas is basically a holiday where you mooch off of other people and get presents? That sounds awesome, yet very one-sided."

I slid a hand down my face slowly and prayed for guidance.

"You're missing the point completely! You give gifts to people also! And it  _ is _ awesome. It's my favorite holiday of the year." Sunstreaker tilted his head curiously.

"Isn't a birthday a celebration entirely based on you though? I would think that would be the most important one." Sunny did have a point, but no cigar.

"Well sure, it's about you, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the most important. Christmas is fricking awesome." They both seemed to have lost attention in the show and Sideswipe propped his helm up on his hand, elbow resting on the top cushion.

"Tell me about it." Sideswipe smiled. I would be glad to indulge you, my good sir.

"Pft, where do you want me to start? Gosh, there's so much stuff to cover. Well, today's something we humans call Black Friday. Basically after Thanksgiving, every store puts their products on  _ really _ good deals. It's what everyone goes to to kick off their Christmas shopping. It gets really intense too, like all the security is doubled up and people actually die from getting trampled to death. That's the not so good stuff about it. But there are a lot of good things about it. Like Christmas songs, my favorite's definitely "Where Are You Christmas?" By Faith Hill. Where I live, it snows a lot. We once got so much in one night that I went out the next morning and it was up above my knee! But you can make a lot of things like snowmen and snow angels and have snowball fights."

"Ooh, what are those?"

"You make the snow into balls and throw them at people. Preferably at their faces so they give up quicker."

"We're totally doing that. Continue." Of course Sideswipe would love the idea of such a thing.

"Let's see, oh duh, Christmas movies! I think the best feeling is curling up next to a fire and eating s'mores or cookies while watching  _ How the Grinch Stole Christmas _ . Oh, oh! Decorating the tree! Usually you have a tree, it can be artificial or natural, and you decorate it with lights and ornaments and make it all pretty and it's so much fun." I could taste the enthusiasm and glee in my own mouth while I was gushing about Christmas.

"Why do you light a tree? It's a tree." Sunstreaker questioned, clearly confused about human traditions.

"Um…I don't know. But it's still pretty when you're finished. Anyway-"

"But it's an organic plant, doesn't it have insects and need photosynthesis-"

"May I continue, sir?!" Sunstreaker merely glared and scowled before giving a sharp nod.

"Thank you.  _ AS  _ I was saying, Christmas, like I said before, is where you give your loved ones and friends presents. It's not fun shopping by yourself, so me and Katie usually go to the mall together to shop for our moms. It's pretty fun, we always get pretzels from Auntie Anne's and share a lemonade. Although we tend to stay away from the picture with Santa thing, guy always freaks me out."

"Wait, Santa takes pictures with people? And why would he freak you out, I thought he was supposed to be this good guy that brings kids gifts?" Oh dear lord, this is difficult.

"What, no, Santa isn't real." The two just stared at me blankly.

"What even are you humans?" Sides looked so confused. I almost felt bad for him.

"Look, I don't make the rules, I just follow them." I raised my hands in a manner that spoke "I don't know what to tell you."

"Rules are for glitches." Sides snorted.

"Right, Mr. Rule breaker."

" **I don't break the rules, I just bend them. A lot."** Sideswipe reasoned. "Anyway, continue."

"Right, so basically Santa is a legend. It's believed that he has a toy workshop in the North Pole and on Christmas Eve, he flies all around the world with a sleigh pulled by 9 reindeer, the ninth being the infamous Rudolph. He goes down chimneys, and as said before, gives presents to good kids and coal to bad ones."

It was dead silent for at least thirty seconds. The silence was broken by Sunstreaker.

"The  _ frag _ kind of holiday is that?" Sunshine looked bewildered. "Was the person who came up with this slag glitched? Because it sounds horrifying. Having a fat human sneak into your housing unit where your sparklings might be and give them gifts. That sounds really creepy, why is that a good thing?"

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, not at all getting the concept of the jolly gift bringer. "Like, it's almost pedophilic. Especially the song that goes with it. The song, and I shit you not, literally goes "He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake." It terrifies you when you're old enough to take it out of context."

"Can we celebrate this holiday without a Santa?" Sideswipe asked, a puppy dog look to his face.

"Wait, you mean you'd celebrate it with me?" I asked, getting pretty excited at the notion. Sunny shrugged.

"Don't see why not. Even though some of it is fragging ridiculous." Sunny scoffed. I feel like he's going to be a real scrooge.

"I'm a little curious to what you're gonna get me." Sideswipe grinned, poking a digit into my stomach. I batted it away, a smile of my own on my lips.

"What makes you think I'm getting you anything?" I tease. Sideswipe gasped overdramatically and pu8t a hand to his chest like I had wounded his spark.

"So you don't see me as a loved one or friend?" I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be silly."

"You're right. After all, I'm your best friend and you love me." I groaned, not wanting to have to deal with this.

"Sides,  _ come on _ -"

"I will make you say I am your best friend before you die!" Sideswipe firmly spoke with confidence. But right after, both Twins' eyes dimmed. A telltale sign of a comm.

"Looks like you're gonna have to explain Christmas to a couple more people there, princess!" Sideswipe grinned.

"What do you mean?" It was Sunstreaker who answered, and there was a small curl to his lips. Small, but it was there.

"New arrivals."


	14. Chapter 14

"New arrivals?" Well, that was a thing. A very surprising, abrupt thing. I hadn't taken into account that there might still be Autobots out there. I was under the impression that everyone on base was all that was left. But this was great news. The more 'Bots there were, the better the chance they had of defeating the Decepticons, right?

Sideswipe nodded excitedly, eager to reunite with his fellow comrades. "Yeah, c'mon. Prowl's ordered a debriefing in the main hangar." He gently picked me up before he was off, Sunstreaker close on his heels. There was that momentary feeling of my stomach turning upside down from the sudden lift of elevation, like when riding an elevator. Or maybe that was just me. But it didn't last long, because they were in the hangar in no time flat. All the Bot's had gathered, as well as soldiers. Prowl stood in front of a large screen with four red dots beeping on the screen, each relatively close to one another. Optimus gained everyone's attention and gave Prowl the floor, whilst I was propping myself on Sideswipe's shoulder, one arm carefully perched on one audio horn, being careful of its sensitivity. He didn't seem to be bothered by it, so I focused on what the SIC was saying.

"I've calculated four new arrivals that should be arriving in the next four hours, each confirming their affiliation as Autobots and responding to Optimus's message."

"Whoa, whoa, whaddya mean "I" calculated four new arrivals?"

"…Fine.  _ We calculated _ four new arrivals. Content now, Jazz?" Prowl sighed, hating to be disrupted on such a trivial thing. Jazz nodded with a smile, before waving him on. "Please, do continue." A simple look was all Prowl responded with before righting himself again, door wings perched high in a show of self-respect.

"As I was saying, they will be arriving within the day, all in the respective area near Arizona."

I gasped softly and put a hand on my heart. "Aw, I love Arizona." Sideswipe glanced sideways at me, raising an eye ridge humorously.

"You been there before?"

"On a trip once. It was wonderful and warm and the sunsets there are so pretty. They don't compare to anywhere else I've been."

"Y'know, I've just about lost count of how many times you've said "pretty" today."

"When one talks about Christmas, it is law to say "pretty" as many times as one can." I replied dryly. "Now pay attention, this is important."

"You were the one who started talking!" Sides whispered loudly.

"You didn't have to respond to my commentary!"

"Are you aftheads done?" Sunstreaker sighed exasperated, showing no qualms about making his annoyance visible. I felt the urge to reply with a witty comeback, but I held my tongue in a show of restraint and decided to just listen to the important information Prowl had to share.

"I've assembled a-"

"You mean "WE"."

"… _ Yes, Jazz.  _ We've assembled a team to intercept them before the Decepticons do. Ratchet, Bluestreak, you'll stay here. Everyone else will leave with Optimus."

"When will that be?" A voice rang out in question through the hangar. Jazz gave a non-commited horizontal hand shake.

"Ehhh, I'd say 'bout…like maybe in five minutes. Takes a while 'ta get 'ta the U.S. from here." Jazz supplied, looking at Prowl for confirmation. Prowl nodded and turned back to the gathering of troops.

"Anymore questions?" Sideswipe raised his hand.

"Yes, uh, Professor?" A few chuckles sounded from the soldiers on the ground, but Prowl did not seem as amused.

"Sideswipe, please tell me this is a relevant and important question."

"Oh, it is. You have any idea who's coming? Like, on a designation basis?"

"Only those who answered the call directly. Unfortunately. I've confirmed two Autobots. Mudflap and Skidz." A collective groan sounded from both the twins, and a few other Autobots who were obviously acquainted with these "Mudflap and Skidz".

"Know 'em?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Sunny had a hand on his face, and slowly slid it down.

"Pit-spawned twins is what they are."

"Twins? I thought you said they were rare?"

"They are. It just so happens that most twins migrated to the Autobots when records of Decepticon medics experimenting on them got out." Sunstreaker spoke in his cool, rumbling voice as always.

"Oh. That reminds me  **of that one guy from the Holocaust, he was a doctor for the Nazis** , had the nickname "Angel of Death". He's famous for his experiments on twins too. Awful." I piped up, and then I realized that the topic of doing horrible medical things to sets of twins wasn't exactly a subject the Twins would be eager to discuss.

"So, twins huh? Split spark or fraternal or identical or…?"

"Don't even start." Sideswipe grumped, a frown set on his face. "They give twins a bad name."

"I thought you did that all on your own." After that smartass comment, I was promptly lifted by the scruff of my shirt and set on the floor in the span of at least 5 seconds. I spluttered, missing the warmth that his plating gave off. It was much harder to talk to them from 15 feet away.

"Sides, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" I whined, flopping myself over his tire in what was supposed to be a pitiful "forgive me" hug. I heard a faint huff, before long, slender fingers reached back down to wrap around me delicately. I smiled, his hand like a cocoon of splendid heat. When I thought he was about to put me back on his shoulder, he put me in front of his face, and for a minute I was reminded of that scene from  _ Kronk's New Groove _ when Ms. Birdwell talked to that doll for the little girl. Sideswipe looked at me appraisingly, optics flicking up and down in a quick motion, before he barely shook his head.

"Nope." And with that, I was back down onto the floor. Well fine, if he wanted to be like that, then he could go ahead.

"This is why we're not best friends." I muttered under my breath, but I knew with his species inept hearing capabilities, the words would reach his audio receptors. He didn't verbally respond, but instead just cross his arms and shot a glare down at me that would've been more impressive if he didn't have such a pouty face. I shrugged, and walked over to where Katie was. Bluestreak was right next to her, as usual, and both waved at me. Optimus had given the "roll out" and now everyone was hustling and bustling into action. But Bluestreak was staying, so we'd at least have some 'Bot company. Bluestreak knelt down to our level so we wouldn't have to crane our necks to high.

"Hey, Jen. How was your nap? Or at least, I think you were napping, you don't look very tired, but that could be from just sleeping well enough, Sunny said you were napping. Sorry about finishing the movie without you though, it was actually a really good movie, I really liked it, and can we watch it again during that Christmas holiday? It looks really pretty and I like all the little decorations that come with it!" He spoke eagerly, a sparkle in his optics I thoroughly enjoyed to see. Katie chuckled, reaching up to pat him on his cheek.

"He's pretty excited about, since it's almost December and all."

"It's funny, I was just explaining this to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. They didn't quite get some things, but they were pretty enthusiastic as well. Well, at least Sides was, Sunny's was more quiet and reserved. But he was interested, and I'm pretty sure he smiled once, so I think he's in too. But be careful, I accidentally told Sideswipe what a snowball fight was. Speaking of which, when's it gonna snow? Actually never mind, I don't want to jinx it. I hate shoveling, it's torture on my back and I can't feel my face afterwards." Shoveling was one of those chores parents gave to children when they themselves didn't want to do it and used money as an incentive. I once shoveled the driveway because I thought it'd be nice, and I came inside shivering to see a mug of hot cocoa and a twenty dollar bill underneath it. I loved my mom.

"Oh God, I'm so happy my brothers are coming home this Christmas. They can do the shoveling. Have to prove that they're big, strong, manly men." She puffed out her chest and flexed her arms, making me and Blue laugh.

"I almost forgot about them. Matthew and Connor? Oh man, memories. Those two always make my blood pressure go up, every time I'm near them."

"Is it because you're attracted to them?" Blue asked innocently.

…Lol wut?

"Um, Blue. N-no. No. Not at all. And, may I ask,  _ what _ made you think that?" I asked, my face the physical embodiment of confusion.

"Well, I heard that when you see someone you're attracted to, your palms get sweaty and your blood pressure rises and so does your heart beat! Was, was I wrong? Because it looked pretty credible when I read it on the internet." I was so very tempted to ask him just why he was reading about this kind of stuff when Katie just  _ had _ to say a thing.

"I do know which set of brother's she's attracted to." She ended it with a fake coughing fit that turned into laughing. "Man, these allergies, I tell ya. I should get some Allerclear or something." She smiled sweetly. That fragger.

"Okay, one, when you have allergies, usually you  _ sneeze _ , and two, I'm going to murder you and stuff you into a sock if you keep spouting such lies."

"If you want to put logic into this, then how am I going to fit into a sock? My body's too big."

"Now it is, but the leftovers of your remains will definitely have room once I'm done with you." I was distracted by the vibrating in my pocket. I reached in and pulled out my phone, seeing that Sunny had texted me.

_ Not even going to say goodbye? _

I rolled my eyes, tip tapping away at the screen.

_ Blame it on your twin. _

"Gee, I wonder who Jenny could be texting right now?" Blue said in an obvious clipped tone, leaning over to look at my messages.

"Bluestreak!" I shouted, clutching the phone close to my chest so he couldn't see.

"Is it possible that Jenny could be texting a particular twin? What say you, Blue?" Kat tried to sneak the device away, but I was quick to distance myself. Not her too.

"Well, I am so glad you asked, Kathleen. I believe she is texting the golden frontliner, Sunstreaker." Blue transformed into his Datsun alt-mode, holoform materializing.

"Balderdash! She speaks too frequently with the silver prankster, Sideswipe. I bet 20 golden doubloons that it is he!" Katie and Bluestreak shook hands before turning to me. What the fuc-

"Hold on, you guys just went from like, Shakespeare to pirates, I'm confused, what is even happening right now, did you guys just bet on who texted me? Because it's just Sunny." I flipped the phone around to show them. Bluestreak cheered victoriously while Katie pouted and grumped in defeat. I'd be pissed if I was going to lose 20 golden doubloons too. Bluestreak paused mid-cheer to point at me.

"You might want to check again, I think he texted back." I flipped my phone around quickly, but found that was not to be true. I could hear snickering, and it was from the two conniving dorks I called my friends.

"Why would you do that? Now I can't trust you."

"I wanted to see how quickly you would check your phone at the prospect of him texting back, and the face you would make when you saw it wasn't true. In conclusion, you looked like a wounded petro-dog who had a rust stick waved in his face and then it was thrown out of a window." I do not know of these rust sticks he speaks of, but they sound like the Cybertronian equivalent of a churro.

"You guys are mean."

"Does that mean you admit it?"

"Admit what?"

"Admit wha- What do you mean admit what?! Don't play dumb!" Katie waved her arms frantically.

"By that, do you mean admit that I have feelings of romantic attraction towards the Twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that is what she means, and you might want to answer her quickly because she looks really excited to know and might have like a breakdown if she doesn't." Blue answered for her, humor thick in his voice.

"The answer is most definitely no, then. We're just friends, guys. Just like you two are just friends." An evil curl to my lips formed at the end of my sentence. Kat cheeks tinted pink while Blue looked down at his shoes bashfully.

"C'mon, I'm bored. Let's do something to stimulate our brains/processors." I put my hands behind my head and laced the fingers together, palms flat against the cranium. I started walking toward the nearest rec room in the now eerily quiet base. There were still some soldiers here, but it was drastically reduced. If there was ever a good time for Decepticons to attack the base, now would be the time. Oh boy, that's not good thinking there, Jennifer, now paranoia is going to set in. How wonderful.

I focused my thoughts elsewhere, and of course they went to the Twins. They occupied so much of my mental process, it was almost getting too stuffy. I had no idea when they left, but I knew they wouldn't be back for quite some time. What day was it again? Oh right, Saturday. That meant we had one day left. At least I'd have time to see the new arrivals. There was going to be four more 'Bots, and two of them were supposedly meant to stay away from. I wondered who the other two would be. Young like Bumblebee or sort of old like Ratchet? Not really old, more like seasoned. Yeah, seasoned was a good term.

For the next few hours, we just surfed the channels, me, Katie, and Bluestreak. We were able to catch about half of  _ The Lorax _ and there was a marathon of  _ Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.  _ Katie and I ate dinner, and it was getting pretty late. Bluestreak had this sixth sense of who was the culprit in every episode. Because of it, I always payed attention to that specific character and looked at each decision and action they made. And every single time, he was right.

"They're back!" Bluestreak popped up abruptly, grin stretching his lips. We smiled tiredly from our place on the couch and I yawned, Katie following soon after.

"Aw, that's great. Let's go then." Katie mumbled, getting up to stretch her legs before helping me up. Bluestreak transformed once again, leaning down and holding out both hands for each of us to climb on. We did so, and were instantly placed on shoulders. I was buzzing with excitement, and by glancing at Katie, I could see she was too. In our places on Blue, new arrivals would have to see us, prompting us to say hello. It was genius.

Blue walked quickly to the main hangar, and on arrival I saw all original faces here and accounted for as well as four new ones, just as promised. Three mechs and one femme. At least, it looked like a femme. It had curves anyway, I think that counts as a reasonable inference. But what I was really interested in was the new set of twins. I was curious about what made them so bad. From what I observed atop Bluestreak's shoulder plating, the two were arguing with each other, getting into each other's face, and then there was some brawling, and then Ironhide was there, and then the two of them were crashed against each other, and then they both complained at Ironhide while he just threated them with target practice. Huh.

Blue was walking forward, calling out someone's name. "Jolt!"

A blue mech turned around and smiled upon seeing Bluestreak. "Bluestreak, it's been so long! How have you been?" Jolt was about to clap him on his shoulder, but he spotted Katie just in time. "Woah, I did not see that right there, that would've been bad! Hey, you've got two of them. Humans are so small. Hey, I'm Jolt! What're your names?" This Jolt looked chill and down-to-Earth. I liked him.

"I'm Jenny."

"I'm Katie." Jolt grinned, holding out a finger for us to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. Sorry for almost squishing you, by the way. Won't happen again, promise! You two femmes look pretty young though from what I've seen. How long have you been soldiers?" He questioned.

"Oh no, they're not soldiers, they're just under an indefinite witness protection. Plus, they make good company. Especially that one there." Sideswipe sidled up next to Jolt and gestured towards me, Sunny close behind. They were never far apart anyways.

"Oh? I only assumed considering they're wearing the same outfit all the other soldiers are wearing. Interesting. What caused them to go into witness protection?"

"They have an uncanny ability of running into Cybertronians." Was Sunny's answer, optics pointedly on me. Tch, not my fault.

"Some of them being 'Cons I presume?" Jolt summed up, not really a question but more of a statement.

"Yeah. We really gotta work on that." Katie drawled, looking over to me. Man, I didn't like all these eyes on me.

"Jolt? I see you're making friends faster than me." Wow, so many people were starting to crowd around now. It was the femme, navy blue with silver accents. She was pretty, in Cybertronian standards.

"Hello!" I greeted, waving my hand. Sides looked at me with smirk, but I ignored him. The femme smiled and waved back almost shyly.

"Hello. I'm Solarflare."

"I'm Jennifer, prefer Jenny. It's nice to meet you!" Solarflare. It was a bit of a mouthful, but all the 'Bots names were. No matter, she looked friendly.

"You can also call her Princess, Fluffernutter, Glitch, it all works the same."

"Sides, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"I would  _ love _ to see you try, Princess."

"She probably could if she really tried."

"No one asked you for your input, Sunshine."

"Don't call me that!"

"Here." Sideswipe put out his hand to Bluestreak in a gesture of "gimme". "She's my best friend, I can take her."

"She is  _ not _ your best friend!"

"I am not your best friend!"

"Uh, yes you are. Don't you remember? What I say is law."

"Sideswipe, best friends don't throw a hissy fit and put their best friend on the ground. Nobody puts baby on the ground!"

"It's "Nobody puts baby in the corner" you uncultured swine." Katie mumbled, but I pointedly ignored her. Sides rolled his eyes, and grabbed me gently despite my protests. "You can deny it all you want, Jennifer, you can't hide what's inside. Sunny and I know you too well." He situated me on his shoulder, looking insufferably damn proud of himself. Solarflare and Jolt were laughing, amused by the banter. Sideswipe looked satisfied and turned to look at me, grinning cheekily and flashing a wink. Despite it all, I grinned back and chuckled, crossing my legs and shoving his face away fondly. As casual conversation took over the group, with Solarflare introducing herself to everyone, I looked at my hand. That was weird. My palms were sweaty.


	15. Chapter 15

December 20th. It had been about a month since I first met the Twins, and all the arrivals had settled on Earth relatively easily. All the soldiers on base had helped out in introducing them to human culture, and I now had some very funny pictures of expressions of confusion and sometimes horror in varying degrees. Katie and I had some Christmas shopping to do, and what better place to go for last minute shopping than the mall. Surely it wouldn't be crowded with other procrastinating last minute shoppers like us, right? Ha. Ha ha.

"So, you've already gotten stuff for your brothers, right?" I questioned absently while staring at the large directory of the layout of the mall.

"Yeah, same thing as last year. Xbox live membership and iTunes. They're not getting an Xbox one until they're 20. What about you?"

"I need to get one really nice thing for my mom to make up for the less expensive things I got her. Like a card, and candy. And a stress ball. I'm not the best daughter." I straightened up and checked my phone. Our moms were going to be picking us up in about an hour. "Let's get a move on, don't have lot of time left. And I'd really like a pretzel and lemonade."

"Alright. You getting anything for the Lamborghinis? You should get them matching Hello Kitty bumper stickers."

"I'm sorry, I really like my life, especially the living part, so I'm going to politely decline that suggestion. But that is brilliant." I stopped by this nice glassware store. I never went into the place because I never had the funds to buy anything in there anyway. However, on this prestigious day, my dear mother had given my 50 bucks for vacuuming the entire house. I went in and Katie followed, looking around at all the shiny, pretty, expensive, breakable things.

"Jen, you could get this for your mom." I turned around to see her pointing at a sculpture of a tall stick figure looking woman with a smaller stick figure looking child. They were holding hands but they didn't have faces. On the platform they were welded to, it read: " _ A mother holds her children's hands for a while…Their hearts forever. _ " I liked it.

"Good eye. And it's relatively under 50 dollars with sales tax included. If by some chance sales tax went over 8 percent, could you loan me a dollar?"

"Yeah, no problem." I ringed up the gift and while the cashier was wrapping it in protective tissue paper, I looked over to Katie.

"You asked what I was getting for the Twins, which is most likely nothing because I'm flat broke, but do you have any plans for Baby blue?" They were the most adorable things I had ever seen. I didn't comment or tease them anymore because honestly, it'd be a shock if they didn't end up together.

"Oh, he told me he didn't want anything, that I didn't have to get him anything. Me and him were gonna go to the zoo to see the winter lights show, did you want to come by chance?"

"Oh yeah, I'd love to!" The winter light show at the St. Louis zoo was a wonderful experience, especially when it was either snowing or it had freshly snowed. They kept the penguin house open and you could spend time watching the cute flightless birds hop around and accidentally on purpose splash their onlookers. It was better to go with friends. I handed over my 50 and collected my change, pondering on whether or not I should invite Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Sideswipe wouldn't have a problem with it I didn't think, but Sunstreaker would prefer not to be immersed in large groups. Hmm, maybe. Katie wouldn't mind if I invited them along, the more the merrier. "Well, I'm done with my shopping. I have like, 4 bucks left. I can't even buy a pretzel by myself." And here I was broke as a joke again. I seriously needed a job.

We walked around the mall for a while and Katie got all of her shopping done. We sat on a bench just outside of Auntie Anne's and savored the pretzels Katie had bought. I pitched in and got a medium lemonade. We were discussing what we wanted for Christmas when my phone buzzed. An unknown number?

_ Hi, this is Mikaela, I got your number from Sideswipe. _

That name sounded so familiar and I couldn't put my finger on where I had heard it. "Katie, Kat, Mikaela. Where have we heard of a Mikaela that knows the Autobots?" There was a pause in which we both were thinking before she snapped her fingers and gestured frantically.

"Oh, oh! The, the uh, the Sam Wit-something guy! Bumblebee's charge! His girlfriend!"  _ That's _ where I heard it.

_ Oh, hi! I've heard about you, I'm glad we're not the only teenagers that stumbled onto aliens. _

_ Haha yeah. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to meet up sometime. Me and Sam have never met you and we're really curious! _

Okay. I don't really know how to precede here. How do I respond? Do I answer with a positive "We'd love to" with multiple unnecessary exclamation marks even though I'm not really that excited in real life? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to meet them. But these are upperclassmen I'm talking to. Seniors. I don't like the seniors in my own school let alone other schools. I am just now realizing that contradicts the whole "I'd love to meet them" shtick.

_ Yeah, that'd be great. Did you have a time or place that you wanted to or…? _

A few minutes went by, Katie hanging over my shoulder and watching.

_ We're at base right now, winter break and all. Do you think you could phone a friend and come over here? _

_ Um, I don't think that'd be a problem. I'll tell you in a minute whether it's a go or not. _

Hopefully neither mom was already en route to pick us up. I was in the middle of texting Sideswipe to pick us up when I was interrupted by a text from Sunstreaker. Of all mechs, he used cellular capabilities the least.

_ Come outside, I'm here. _

Holy shit. That was like, really fast. I scrambled to put together a quick message to my mom explaining what was occurring and where I'd be. Katie had already done the same. Guiding our way through the crowded mall and weaving through the bodies of countless shoppers, we soon exited the mall. Sunstreaker was just sitting there in his yellow Lamborghini self, idling and running very noticeable exhaust in the absolute freezing air.

"Stop idling, you're producing unnecessary amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere." Katie chided teasingly, reaching for the handle of the door, most likely wanting privilege to the passenger seat. Sunny didn't bid her entry. "Sunstreaker, it's so cold out here, let me in, please!"

"You can get in the back." He replied smoothly, popping open the door and leaning the seat forward for her to climb into the back seat.

"What am I, a second class citizen?" Katie grumbled, but getting in regardless. The passenger seat reclined back into its original position for me. Don't I feel special? "Oh I see, you're playing favoritism." Sunny didn't even respond to Katie's accusations.

"You usually don't volunteer to chauffeur me around, let alone friends." I raised an eyebrow, smiling at the warm air blowing as he drove off with a squeal of his tires and a rev of his engine. Show off.

"I guess all this Christmas stuff is just overfilling me with  _ holiday cheer _ ." His deep voice rumbled through the speakers, sarcasm very much apparent.

"Someone's being a little sassafras today. What, did you get put on parole or something?"

"You humans use salt to melt ice from the roads. Do you have any idea what that does to my undercarriage, much less my paint?"

"Mm, unsavory things I'm sure." I sighed, leaning back into the cushiony seat. "Besides that, how are you? How's your day goin'?" There was a short pause.

"I'm well. My days have been similar these past weeks. Following orders, listening to humans sing the same songs over and over, keeping Sideswipe out of trouble unsuccessfully. He's in the brig, that's why I'm here. He put mistletoe in every single doorway and painted Mudflap and Skidz to look like elves."

Katie laughed with me. "Aw, that wasn't nice of him!"

"He didn't care if it was nice, he cared if it was funny. It was amusing to me at least." Sunny mumbled, turning into an alley. He stopped for a second before a groundbridge appeared in at the end of the alley. Slowly, he drove forward into it.

**XxXxX**

"So, Sam, do you have any preference to where you want to go to college?" I asked, lounging on the couch against Katie, popping Kit Kat after Kit Kat into my mouth from a Kit Kat bites bag they had, but no longer wanted.

"Uh, yeah. There's this one school, part of the Ivy League colleges."

"You applied to an Ivy League school? You've got more confidence than me, I'll tell you that." Sam smiled with a twinge of pride. Mikaela hugged her boyfriend from behind, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"He's got it in the bag." She assured, being the supportive girlfriend most strived to be. I liked Sam and Mikaela. They were cool teens who looked like they would continue being cool adults. "So, Jennifer, you have anyone special for the holidays?" She asked with the startings of a sly smile.

"God, not even my mom asks me that. No, I do not have a significant other."

"Do you want one?"

"I dunno, maybe?"

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"I dunno! I never really thought about it. Like, I'll know when I like someone right?" Mikaela gave me a look of what I could describe as a mixture between disbelief and pity, as if wanting to say "Oh, you poor innocent sunflower, no." She never got to say such a remark because Lennox walked into the Rec room.

"Heya, Will! How goes it?" Katie called out.

"Hey, you two. It goes good. Oh, I've been meaning to tell you, the men around here are planning a Christmas function. They don't get to see their family often and with hunting Decepticons, they need a bit of fun every once in a while so what better way than to celebrate the holidays with our robotic allies?" That sounded like fun. Not like me and mom were being invited to any Christmas parties anytime soon. Mom would probably be out with her fellow nurse friends that night if I was busy.

"Sounds great, Will. Just one question, will I have to wear a dress?"

"No, because I'm not letting you roam freely around soldiers with access to champagne."

"What?! Why?" Me and Katie both whined simultaneously.

"Are we allowed to come?" Sam offhandedly asked, gesturing between him and Mikaela.

"Yes, and here's why I say you're not formally invited. I need people with creative minds to help decorate for it. I can get some Bots to help you out if you need it, the base is your sandbox. Well, just one part of it, but yeah. Think you're up to it?" Lennox smiled, raising an eyebrow. This too sounded like fun.

"I've always wanted to stand on someone's hand and tell them to lift me lower or higher to assist me in decorating. Yeah, I'll do it if my mom lets me. But I expect us to be credited if anyone asks who's responsible for such amazing decorating." I overdramatically scrunched my nose up in a haughty manner before chuckling at my own silliness. Katie agreed too, and was already texting her mom for permission. I'd ask when I got home.

"Oh, Jenny?" A teasing voice drawled from the direction of the doorway. "Doesn't your best friend get a hello?" Sideswipe cocked his helm, shoulder leaning on the frame of the entrance with his arms and legs crossed. A grin spread across my face.

"If it isn't Santa Claus himself." Sides smirked, pushing himself off and walking closer.

"If I were Santa, I'd be what every woman across the globe would want for Christmas."

"What about lesbians?" Mikalea countered.

"I'm a 500,000 dollar car, they'd want me." His arrogance was infuriating sometimes and yet, I didn't mind it? On anyone else, I wouldn't have, but on him it just fit? I don't know, things man.

"Hey Siders. I have a proposition for you." Sideswipe raised his eyeridges before settling them back down, a sly smile on his lips as he kneeled down to hover over me.

"What kind of proposition are we talking about here?"


	16. Chapter 16

"So let me get this straight. You are using me as a tool to complete your own tasks, a task which I might add is completely doable on your own, and I am receiving no compensation for it?"

"Uh, I mean I'll say thank you but I have nothing to really give you, so yeah?"

"I should've seen this coming. I've seen iRobot and Wall-E, if you don't start making me feel appreciated you're gonna have a robot uprising on your hands." I groaned tilting my head back.

"Please? I'll give you a wax when it's summer?" It was an interesting reaction. His head reared back before leaning forward in interest.

"What makes you think you can live up to my standards?" His optics were boring into me, scrutinizing my willingness to do a cosmetic repayment. I unzipped my jacket and tied it around my waist. It got really warm, really quick.

"I'm a determined individual with a heart of gold who can put her mind to the task when given proper motivation. What do you want me to say? I'll try really hard to make you pretty." I shrunk my neck in and hefted my shoulders with my palms at equal level in an exaggerated shrug. Sideswipe just rolled his optics and picked me up.

"Fine." He sighed as if he had been coerced into doing my homework. I smiled and hugged his thumb.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." I heard a huff of short laughter before I was deposited on his shoulder.

"You knew I would've said yes without the incentive. But I am so going to hold you to this."

I swear, a stick of butter could've melted it was so warm in that room.

**XxXxX**

"A little higher. No, higher. Okay lower. Alright, now just, like move up a millimeter. You know what, go back."

"Dear fragging Primus, decide already!"

"Don't yell at me! A lot of people are going to be seeing these, I want to make sure everything's even!"

"Not even Sunstreaker is this picky, I am so tempted to just twitch my hand and watch you fly."

"Jen, you see this? He's threatening me with murder."

"It'll be more than a threat if you don't make up your fragging mind."

Christmas decorating had never been so stressful. Katie and her perfectionistic ways had to make sure everything was symmetrical, on the same level, and evenly spaced. Sideswipe wasn't a patient person. That created a cocktail of strained friendships and snappy comments that I had to mediate.

"Katie, put the wreath where you are, no arguments. Sideswipe, the world isn't going anywhere and you said you had nothing to do. Patience is a virtue." I couldn't help but notice that I sounded like a mother who was used to breaking up squabbles between her children to the point where it was a nonchalant thing. Both grumbled but made their own versions of acceptance to what I had said.

"Fine."

"I hope that wax takes  _ forever _ ." I didn't even look up from my task of detangling light cords. It was a god awful mess and my fingertips were starting to hurt. Considering these things only got taken out once a year, it really made me wonder how they got in this condition  _ in the first place _ .

"Kay', done with wreaths. You can put me down." There was a sigh of relief like he had been drowning in an ocean of his own whiny tears and finally broke the surface. He was quick to set her down on the floor and rotated his shoulder.

"I better get credit for this."

"Fine, you big crybaby." I muttered, delighting in finding I was halfway done with one stack.

"So, what's next? Just lights?" Katie inquired, walking over to look over my shoulder at the grim knot.

"Yeah. Wanna help?"

"Pft, no. Let me rephrase that, I don't  _ want _ to help, but I'm going to end up helping anyway." The sound of machinery shifting and being boxed down was going on in the background and it wasn't soon after there was another presence behind me.

"Yikes." Yeah. Yikes. Thanks, Sides. Katie's pants started to vibrate and she reached behind her to pull her phone out of her back pocket. After a brief moment of looking at the screen, she grinned and did a small fist pump. And then she changed her excitement into a morose and almost guilty expression.

"I'm sorry, Jen. My mom wants me to come home now. I wish I didn't have to leave so I could help you get this done, I really a-"

"Okay, I have heard some bullshit in my time-" Katie broke her guise and started laughing. "But that is just blatant. Go home, Sides and I have this covered." I waved her away and I could feel Sideswipe's resistance to helping, but something clicked in his head to where he sat down next to me and put his arm around me, looking back at Katie with a smirk.

"Yeah, because  _ best friends _ stay to help."

"You don't have a mom! Or a curfew! This is-"

"An outrage? I do agree, that you're not even putting up a fight for the title." I didn't want this to continue any longer, so I smacked him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?" He had the gall to look like the victim. I turned and pointed a finger in his face.

"You sir, are acting like a little shit. Stop being an antagonizing dork and help me before I have to go too." I returned to wrestling with the gnarled cords and light bulbs. I was just going to ask someone else to replace the burned out ones, I had no energy for that.

"That hurts. That-"

"Don't even try to say "that hurts deep", you're becoming predictable." A low whistle came from my side and the mech leaned forward to catch my eye.

"Someone's got some sass today. Are you feeling irritated? Tense? A sense of unhappiness?" Katie was already long gone.

"Towards you, perhaps." I grouched.

"Mm-hm…mm-hm, and how's your sleep schedule been?" I faltered and looked at him. His arctic blue eyes betrayed any innocence he tried to pull off. You could see wheels turning and mischief in those eyes from a mile away.

"Um, good? I mean, it gets hot sometimes, but that's only because we run the heater…" Sideswipe perked up and the beginnings of a smirk were tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Would you characterize these as hot flashes?"

"Okay, seriously, what are you getting at?" Sideswipe cleared his throat and leaned back against the table.

"Well…you are female…"

Everything clicked at once and my body reacted before my mind. I reared back and socked him in the shoulder.

"Fragging ow, dude!" I didn't stop there. I tackled him. Over and over I let my hands fly towards his face and each time he blocked them. I knew he would, just how he knew I'd get tired pretty soon. Still, I wanted him to learn his lesson.

"You!" Swing. "Mother!" Hit. "Fucker!" Injure.

"Just, hey, just calm down, princess."

"No! You calm down! You asshole! Are you seriously insinuating I'm on my period because I got snappy?! Asshole! You're the king of assholes! All assholes look to you for wisdom and advice on how to be the biggest asshole to please their mighty asshole leader! You're worse than the boys at my school! I can't believe you think that's okay!" I was panting now, fists slowing down considerably. Sides was staring at me surprised and slightly amused. Mostly surprised. Surprised amusement.

"Are you okay now?" His hands encircled my wrists, keeping them trapped while I caught my breath. Trying to beat people up was exhausting. Slowly, I nodded. Tentatively, he let go of my hands. I took a cheap shot to his stomach and was half-satisfied with the pained grunt.

"Now I'm okay." I conceded.

"Well, can you get off me then? I mean, I like a girl straddling my waist as much as the next mech, but-"

"You either literally have no filter or can't possibly fathom or compute why the things you say could make someone upset. Or both." I scoffed, making sure to press my weight against his chest when I stood up, grumpily returning to the table and huffily picking tediously at the still tangled mess that still needed attention. Which I  _ still _ needed help with.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so pissed off at me before." Sideswipe marveled from where he was on the ground.

"It was only a matter of time." I didn't say that. That voice could only belong to one other person. I managed to look behind me and gave a brief wave.

"Hi Sunny. Did you see all of..?"

"Yes." Well, color me red because I sure as hell was embarrassed. Big, bad brother had seen me walloping at his twin. For good reason, might I add.

"Why didn't you help me?" Sideswipe pouted, finally deciding to stand up. Sunny simply shrugged, smirking while he made his way over to us.

"I thought you could handle a teenager by yourself. Was I mistaken?"

"Jerk."

"Coming from you, that is hysterical." Sunny didn't laugh. Just kept smirking in a way that had Sideswipe scowling. Don't mind me, I'm sure I've mentioned this many times, but I would seriously like some help. Sunny sat down next to me and just watched me work, didn't offer his services or say anything.

"Would you like to aid me?"

"What are you doing?"

"Untangling these lights so I can put them around the room." I hate being repetitive. Much to my surprise and relief, he actually did start to take an end and worm it out of its complex knots and twists.

"Thank you. I greatly appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Sideswipe was against me being friendly to his brother and not him it seemed because he plopped himself right down and in a sickeningly cheerful way, took away my work. There I was, with two helpers and me doing nothing. The bastard even made it look like he was only too glad to help, as if he had offered without me asking.

"Soooo…..are you two busy later this week?" Why did it sound awkward saying it? Sideswipe and Sunny didn't look up.

"Well, between daily patrols and duties, missions in random parts around the globe, training, and fighting a civil war…no, we don't have any plans. Why?"

"Why are you saying "we" as if you are speaking for me?"

"Oh, I am sorry, Sunstreaker. Do tell me, do you happen to have any plans in the following week? You do not, do you?"

"Are you mocking my speech tendencies?"

"Yes I am because apparently contractions do not occur with you and it bugs me."

"Gentlemen, and I'm being nice by calling you such, could you please not? I'm trying to offer you an invitation." I rubbed the bridge of my nose with my index and thumb. If this was how siblings squabbled, I wouldn't have lasted a year with one.

"Yeah, you already offered me a proposition and look where I am."

"Sideswipe, shut up. Look, do either of you want to come to the St. Louis zoo winter light show?" I laid it all out on the table. Quizzical looks were directed my way, blank looks blinking.

"What?" Sunny so eloquently put it.

"Katie, Blue, and I are planning on going to the Zoo in St. Louis to see all the lights in the exhibit. It's really pretty. Would you like to accompany us?"

"Uh, yeah sure. Can we bring people?" Sideswipe curiously questioned, glancing to Sunny before looking back at me. I'd been around them enough to know they could communicate with the quickest of looks.

"Well, the more the merrier. Go ahead if you want, I won't stop you." I wasn't sure who they were thinking of bringing, but I didn't mind. For an hour they worked, bantering and chatting easily while I added my input from time to time. Sideswipe kept doting compliments on me periodically, trying to sweeten me up.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Sideswipe."

"That's what everyone says. You know, I ever tell you you're the smartest teenage girl I've ever met?"

"I'm one of two teenage girls you've met."

"You're really talented."

"That is so vague."

"You're beautiful." Now _ that _ chipped my armor. It wasn't often anyone called me pretty, much less beautiful. Sideswipe noticed this and grinned.

"There it is. You like me again, dontcha?"

"You're such an insufferable jackass." I smiled while he tugged me in for a side hug.

"But you love it."


	17. Chapter 17

"This was a great idea, alright. Getting here early, I mean. No flaw in that plan whatsoever, nope. It's only a brisk 12 degrees out here, I can't think of a single reason why we should've given perhaps a little more thought before agreeing to it. What about you guys? Are you two having as much  _ fun _ as I am?" It was hard to sound sarcastically scathing when one had to pause in the middle of talking to shiver uncontrollably just to warm up enough. Katie wasn't responding and that was probably for the best. Bluestreak was quiet too, which was a little eerie. They were slowly inching their way towards each other too. It was like watching turtles, really. One would take a step to the side. The other would mirror them. Hell, I should've had some strawberries and watched them eat them. Then they'd really be turtles.

I looked at my phone and my hatred for the Twins intensified to a gargantuan amount. They were supposed to be here at 7 P.M.. It was 7:03. It wasn't like they had to freshen up or anything, they were  _ fucking robots for crying out loud _ . They had an internal chronometer in their heads at all times, which meant they knew exactly what time it was. Those late sons of bitches, I knew it was Sideswipe's fault. Sunny wasn't the kind of guy to be late when he said he'd be there at a specific time. If anything, he'd be fashionably early. The familiar rev of a V8 engine had all of us looking up. Sure enough, there they were.

They had company.

An electric blue Chevrolet volt and another navy blue car followed the red and yellow Lamborghinis. There was no way they could've been subtle about their entrance. Visitors to the zoo slowed as they entered the guest center, wondering if they were about to see someone famous. Speaking of the guest center, that sounded really warm and pleasant and just all around better than standing outside in the snow.

"Hurry. Up. I can't. Stand. This. Any longer." Katie spoke through gritted teeth, now fully huddling next to Blue. The turtles had come together when I wasn't looking, those sneaky reptiles. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker got out like normal humans would while Jolt and who I now recognized as Solarflare exited themselves out of the passenger door. I didn't blame them of course; it took some time integrating into another species. Sideswipe and Sunny sauntered over, letting the other two trail behind them. Sideswipe raised an eyebrow at the heated glare leveled their way.

"You look miserable."

"You're four minutes late."

"Aw, you've been keeping track. Wanted to see me that badly?" He smirked.

"I f-f-f-fucking hate you." I didn't like the cold. Some people do, I don't. Sideswipe only grinned like the asshole he was and ruffled my hat snuggly capped over my head. I slapped his hand away, disgruntled. I pushed past him to hug Sunny. His arms were frozen in the air like he didn't know what was happening or what to do. There was a hint of hesitance as he lowered his arms down around me lightly. I smiled all the same. He never would've allowed me to do something like this when I first met him. He was  _ so _ warm. Eventually, I let go of the puzzled holoform and moved over to greet the two newbies to the base. Funny how I, the human, was calling _ them _ newbies. "Hey Jolt! Solarflare! Great to see you two, glad you could come."

"Why thank you. I have yet to witness Earth wildlife in its glorious splender, or so I've been told. Do they have giraffes here? Am I pronouncing that right? I've always wanted to see giraffes." Jolt chattered on and walked past me, leaving me with Solarflare. She smiled at me, hands clasped in front of her. Her holoform had long chocolate brown hair going down her shoulder, clothed in the latest fashions for winter. She probably had over five hundred dollars' worth of fabric on her person.

"So, Sunny and Sides invite you?" I asked.

"Yeah, they thought I'd enjoy it. Some stereotypical comment about me being a femme and liking pretty things, so here I am." She sighed at the end. I chortled and that made her smile more. It was a "thank you for thinking that was funny" smile.

"Hey! Are we going to see winter lights or not?" Sideswipe's voice floated over to where we were standing. I rolled my eyes and Solarflare laughed through her nose.

"Coming! Well, I hope you do enjoy yourself, it's a really cool place." And off we went. Katie and I passed right by the maps. We didn't need them.

**XxXxX**

"That…is a big animal." Jolt breathed, looking up at the giraffes. Since it was cold, they had been put in the antelope house with the rest of the  **artiodactyls** . Katie and I were glad to be in the building to warm up our flesh. Ugh, I hate that word. While we had been walking through the zoo, I noticed some habits. Bluestreak was non-stop talking the whole time which I expected. Katie answered his questions to the best of her ability. Sideswipe was like a child who had never seen animals period, excited and dare I say adorable. Sunny was quiet, reserved like he always was, but I could see he was definitely curious about the entire experience. The way he tilted his head and observed every minute detail, each sinew of muscle and the joints of a creature. He was figuring out their build and planning what the best way to recreate that image on a canvas would look like. Solarflare was having a good time, as was Jolt. Jolt was just blown away by everything. Inside the guest center when you looked up, there was a life-size model of a giant squid, hammerhead shark, and a great white. Jolt just turned to me and said "People have survived attacks from these?!". Yes, yes they have.

I must've looked really reluctant to exit the antelope house because Sunny put his arm around my shoulders without looking at me. His warmth seemed to extend out his arm and wrap around me like a lasso. I looked up at him, smiling with a raised eyebrow. He glanced down at me.

"This is a nice thing I'm doing…right?" He questioned quietly, unsure. He was hoping he wasn't wrong in his actions. I leaned into him, throwing my arm around his shoulder as well.

"It's a very nice thing indeed. Thank you." And then Sideswipe came barreling in, crushing both of us in a bear hug.

"I want to be included!" He crooned, before yelling when I stomped on his foot. Sunny was frowning hard, shaking his head at his brother's antics. I corrected my hat and proceeded on my way towards easily the best part of the zoo. The herpetarium. The minute we walked in, I ran straight to the green anaconda and squealed.

"Look at it! Look at this beautiful majestic creature! It could kill me and I'd die happy because it is the most awesome thing! It eats capybaras like it's a fucking snack!" My hands and face were smushed against the glass, grinning and staring at the world's largest snake. I turned around and ran to the other side. "Oh, oh! And over here's the hellbender! It's the key indicator of a healthy ecosystem because they're amphibians and if the waters polluted then they disappear! They're endangered and a lot of conservation projects are being created to help them…" This went on for a while. I was practically the tour guide. Sunny sure had an experience in there. I had been doing an I Spy with poison dart frogs when I turned around and he was transfixed on one tank. There was a pit viper inside, coiled up and staring right back. I watched the two of them. The snake bristled and its coils tightened like it was getting ready to strike. Sunstreaker did not blink. He only narrowed his eyes. The viper looked away first, surprisingly. The smallest of smirks crept onto Sunny's face. He had reason to be smug.

All in all, it was a great night. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed themselves, me especially. When we returned to the guest center to obtain souvenirs, they were blasting heat from their AC units. It still didn't match up to the warmth one hug from Sunny could do. Sideswipe got a claw in the shape of a T-Rex head while I got a stuffed okapi. Katie and Bluestreak got matching turtles. What a happy coincidence.


	18. Chapter 18

You know that anticipatory anxiety that you get the day before something extraordinary is going to happen? Like your birthday, or maybe Halloween. April Fools if you're a little twisted? Nothing compared to Christmas Eve. The festivals, the Christmas channels playing their best music, final presents going under the tree. Perfection. Except for one small detail.

I was sick. Fucking great.

I woke up in the middle of night with an overwhelming sense I was going to puke. I got the cold sweats and I started shaking uncontrollably. Got up, bada bing bada boom, last nights chicken Alfredo was sitting in a frothy mess in my trash can. Now my mom was looking at the thermometer with a frown while my contagious ass was shivering under the sheets even though I felt like I was sitting in a volcano.

"103 even. Not good, sweetie." She sighed, throwing away the disposable part that went in your mouth. I took a breath and my body decided to punish me for it. I leaned over and coughed hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. Every time I drew in a breath, there was a slight wheezing sound. I sniffled and looked back up to my mom.

"Yikes." I rasped, massaging my throat. It was a good thing I wasn't invited to the Christmas Eve party at base. I was a biomedical threat to them all.

"I have to go to work, but you're a big girl, you can take care of yourself for a few hours. Make sure to drink plenty of water and I think there's a Powerade still in the fridge. Throat lozenges are in the medicine cabinet, take them every four hours. Take  _ these _ every eight." She produced a pair of tablets from her scrubs and placed them on my nightstand.

"Okay. I'm not taking that poison called cough syrup." Boy, I sure hope no one ever recorded me today. My voice was nasally and stuffy sounding. Gross.

"You'll just have to deal with the consequences then. There's soup in the fridge, just turn on the 25 Days of Christmas marathon on ABC family and you'll be fine. Love you." She pressed a kiss to my forehead and I smiled.

"Love you too." When she left, I groaned and burrowed back in my covers. I reached for my phone that was still on its charger.

_ I'm sick. _

_ Aw, I'm sorry:(. Do I need to come over? _

_ You're not obligated to. _

_ K, cuz I kinda can't rn. Hanging out with family. _

_ It's ok, have fun. _

Well, Katie wasn't an option today. My body, despite ridding itself of fluids through vomit, decided it had just enough in my bladder to make me have to pee. What little muscles I had ached as I crawled out of bed, phone still in hand. However, I forgot to disconnect the charger and the iHome it was connected to was yanked with it, effectively swiping all items off the nightstand. I inhaled sharply and looked up at the ceiling with empty hatred for the world. Why did I have to exist in this moment? I ripped the charger out with spite and shuffled my way to the bathroom. Staring blearily at my phone, I considered for a moment reaching out to Sideswipe. Sunny didn't like using his comms outside of military purposes, so Sideswipe was the communicator for them both. I gave it a shot. He probably wouldn't answer, he had more important things to do.

_ Hey. _

_ What's wrong? _

Before I could even put the phone down to wipe, he had replied. Wow, okay.

_ What makes you think something's wrong? _

_ You're using correct grammar, you only do that when something's bothering you. Also you didn't deny somethings wrong. What's up? _

_ Now that I'm talking to you, everything's wrong. _

_ Ooh, feisty. Seriously though. _

_ I'm sick. _

_ Like, flu sick or terminal? _

_ Flu? Jesus. _

_ Hold on a sec. _

_ Ok. _

After finally doing my business and vigorously washing my hands, I returned to my bed. I waited for whatever it was Sideswipe was doing. I almost fell back asleep when the doorbell rang. The universe was unrelenting today. Taking my covers with me, I made the painfully slow trek down the stairs and to the door. In hindsight, I should've done the safe thing and check to see who was at the door. Y'know, in case there was a slim chance it was something weird, like a werewolf. Instead I opened the door to reveal a pair of twins. Sideswipe was smirking while Sunny had the vague look of concern mixed with repulsion for human illness.

"You look awful."

"I wish you were a Girl Scout." I muttered, sneezing. Both took a step back and I would've laughed if not for the fact it hurt to laugh and I was too busy shivering. They stepped inside and I closed the door. "Why are you here? Don't you have literally anything else to do besides check up on me?" I wasn't about to go back upstairs, so I plopped down on the couch. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker looked around at their surroundings. Neither had been here in a long time.

"Took the day off." Sideswipe supplied, making himself comfortable next to me. Sunny did the same next to me with a tad more space between us.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, still a little wary on social protocol. I shrugged.

"Like shit."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"No, but I'm supposed to have soup in the fridge." Sunstreaker narrowed his eyes and hummed quietly before getting up and heading to the kitchen. My head was starting to hurt and I leaned it on Sideswipe's shoulder.

"Can you turn on the TV? The Grinch is supposed to be on today." I murmured.  **I was a microchip and a piece of sand had compromised the microchip.** Sunny reappeared, clearly disgusted.

" _ This _ is what you're supposed to eat?" He gestured to the can of soup in his hand.

"Yeah? Why?"

"No." Was all he said before disappeared back into the kitchen. Sideswipe shook lightly from restrained laughter. I could hear the clanging of pots and pans as he rummaged and pillaged my kitchen. I had a feeling he was making something better than soup, or at least making homemade soup. Did he like to cook? That was new information. Sideswipe finally turned on the TV and to my mediocre pleasure, Christmas With the Kranks was on. It was okay, I guess. He was so warm that it put me right to sleep. The next time I woke up, it was someone nudging me. I reluctantly opened my eyes to see Sunny with a bowl of steaming substance and a plate with a grilled cheese.

"Please tell me that's tomato soup." I mumbled sleepily, yet smiled appreciatively. He nodded, putting the plate in my lap and the bowl on the coffee table. He kept his face neutral, a stone wall that wasn't readable. It's how he kept his feelings from getting hurt, by not getting too close or holding high expectations. I took a bite and there was a solid crunch from the crust. Pulling away, there was a cheese stretch; the sign of a perfect grilled cheese. It was buttery and gooey and melted in my mouth and I wanted to stay in that moment of bliss. It would've tasted so much better had I been able to smell it. "Sunstreaker. You are an artist in so many different forms, and this here is your masterpiece." A small curve to his lips signaled a smile, one he didn't show to many others.

"Thank you." He spoke quietly, the tiniest hint of shyness creeping in. He was always self conscious about everything he did. Assurances like this helped him keep his confidence in his abilities. He sat down next to me, this time a little closer. I turned my head at him and smiled before turning back to my grilled cheese. There was another bite indent that I had not taken. I looked at Sideswipe.

"Could you not be a shit stain for like, five seconds?" I deadpanned, smacking him on his chest. He chuckled to himself, quite pleased.

"But that's all part of my irresistible charm." He smirked, throwing an arm around my shoulders. As per every occasion I rolled my eyes at him and ignored him, otherwise the attention only made him stronger.

**XxXxX**

They had stayed long enough for me to eat my lunch breakfast combo and to get through the entirety of  _ How the Grinch Stole Christmas _ . Sideswipe had been nice enough to carry me back up to my room and tuck me in. He talked shit about my room decorations the entire time. Sunny gently misted Emerald's habitat, refilling her water bowl and shredding fresh lettuce and strawberries to make a salad, crickets acting as the croutons. And then they left. And I was alone. So I did what any sick person would do. I watched YouTube on my phone, letting the battery slowly drain and not giving even half a fuck. My laptop was still a dead corpse of what used to be a laptop. Fingers were strongly crossed in hope that a new one was wrapped up and under the tree.

Hours ticked by, the occasional medicine being taken with a glass of water. The sun was setting outside my window. The Christmas party should be starting any minute now. Hope they like the décor. Sideswipe was probably going to brag that he helped with it even though he whined the whole time. Just as my phone hit 21% on battery life, it started ringing. The Skype ringtone and some person by the name of ladiesman217 had me staring at it blankly before I thought "screw it" and hit answer. I was not expecting Sideswipes face to grin at me.

"What." Was all I could think to say.

"Hey there princess! I took Sam's phone and decided to have a little fun. I know you wanted to be here, so look around." The camera panned across the room and I was greeted with dozens of people in formal attire. All in all, it looked like a fun time. The audio was being drowned out with chatter and feedback, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"Aww, I'm glad. Hi everyone who can't hear me." I smiled, waving at no one. The camera turned around back to Sideswipe who was walking backwards towards the holoforms that had gathered in the corner. The cool kids club.

"Jen! Jenny, hi, I haven't seen you in a while, can you believe it's Christmas Eve? I can't, but I'm really excited because that means tomorrow is Christmas which means presents and love and happy times and good memories! How are you, I heard you're sick, are you okay?" Bluestreak had snatched the phone away and was, as far as I could tell, playing keep away with Sideswipe.

"Hey Blue. I'll be okay, just feel crappy and bleh. You can't tell, but I'm excited." I hated the way my voice sounded. Like the garbage disposal. The camera blurred and there was shouting when the suave king himself, Jazz, came into view. "Really Jazz? Shades indoors?" He grinned, adjusting the sunglasses.

"Parta' the look." He shrugged, adjusting his silver tie. "Hate these ties, man. Tryin' to choke me to death." I had silently learned that none of the Autobots liked restriction. Restriction limited mobility, limited mobility meant vulnerability, and that meant death. Sunstreaker was the most against it out of all of them. If you put him in a chokehold, he'd flip you over and out of it so fast you'd get whiplash. I would know.

"Why not take it off?"

"Parta' the look." Solid answer. Again the phone was snatched. Sideswipe was back in control, but this time he had company. I recognized the woman next to him as Solarflare's holoform.

"Hi Jenny!" She smiled bright, waving politely.

"Hey there." I smiled back, waving a little awkwardly. I didn't know her that well, but she seemed intent on being friendly, so I obliged.

"Alright, fluffernutter, Sam is making his angry walk over here. Gotta say goodbye for now."

"Okay, tell Sunny I said hi!"

"I will. Get well soon, Jen. Sweet dreams about me and how amazing you know I am and how you wish I was-" I hung up on him. I couldn't wipe this goofy smile off my face though. Such a nice gesture on his part. I decided to try and get some sleep and beat this cold.

Because tomorrow was Christmas.


	19. Chapter 19

I woke up later than I wanted to, but my immune system made the executive decision to sleep in for one more hour. By that time, my bed turned into its own private earthquake because my mother, the woman who birthed me, was jumping on my bed and shaking me as if the house was on fire and we needed to evacuate. In all honesty, it wouldn't have surprised me. We had enough Christmas lights to cause a fire. Speaking of fire…

"Where's the fire?" I mumbled sleepily, tugging the sheets over my head tighter to block out the natural light streaming in through my curtains.

"It's Christmas, you dope. C'mon, I refuse to be the only person in this house excited. Get up and smell the eggnog."

"I can't believe you just said "get up and smell the eggnog" on Christmas Day." I muffled into my pillow. I was excited in my own way. It just wasn't visible to the naked eye. Or the clothed eye, if there was such a thing. I struggled to get out of bed, throwing on my Jurassic Park ugly sweater. I'd been waiting 365 days to wear it. Before I forgot, I spritzed Emerald with a fresh sheen of water and took her bowl to refill it with lettuce and strawberries. Out of all the berries, she liked those the best. My feet heavily thumped down the stairs where my mom sat waiting next to our tree. With just two people in the house, we always had a small Christmas. That never meant it wasn't any less special.

"Merry Christmas, mom." I sloppily hugged her, smiling contentedly. She hugged me back tightly, doing that weird humming "mmm" noise when you hug tightly. For about half an hour we unwrapped presents. I don't know how people eat breakfast first and then open gifts. It sounds like a tense time of scarfing down food and wondering what's inside those meticulously wrapped presents that took hours to wrap but would be destroyed in the matter of 15 seconds or less. For what my bank account was, I managed to get my mom some pretty okay gifts. A new knife set to replace the rusted, spotted, chipped, dull knives we didn't take care of. A muscle stimulator to massage the stress away after a tough shift at the hospital. I got new clothes, a first aid kit, and above all, a new laptop. My mother got an especially tight squeeze for that.

We cleaned up and put our gifts away, making pancakes afterwards. I wanted to try putting chocolate sauce in the middle of the pancake and covering it with more pancake batter to make a chocolate stuffed pancake. It sort of worked. If you have the patience, go for it. I don't think I've ever experience patience before. Me and my mom danced to Christmas songs while cleaning up all the flour we spilled. It was a good time and the reason why I love Christmas. I tried calling the twins, but they didn't answer. In all honesty I wasn't surprised. They probably had better things to do and were probably celebrating Christmas at base. I'd try again later. After I got showered and dressed for the day, I heard a knock at the door.

"I got it! I got it!" I yelled. There was a thud and a muffled curse as my soft, fluffy socks betrayed me and I slipped on the hardwood floors. You had to trade safety for comfort these days. I gingerly got up, rubbing my elbow as I opened the door.

"Merry Christmas!" Katie rushed in and hugged me, a backpack slung over her shoulder. I hugged her back, reciprocating the festive greeting.

"Merry Christmas, Kat. Man, I'm so used to you being with Bluestreak I'm a little out of my element now that he's not here."

"Oh, shush, like you can talk. You're no different with the twins." I shoved her playfully, taking her backpack.

"Snatched! Is this my present or are there presents inside?" Katie and I proceeded to play a small game of keep away. Not that she knew that, of course. I could navigate my house better than she could. Unfortunately, my socks kept me from running as fast as I wanted to and she caught up to me. The gazelle couldn't outrun the cheetah this time.

"As a matter of fact, your present  _ is _ in here." She huffed. Katie unzipped the bag and gave me a wrapped box shaped like a perfect cube.

"If this is a box inside a box, I'll kill you." I threatened with no heat, tearing open the wrapping paper and opening the box. Inside were slips of paper jam packed together. Confused, I tilted the box upside down and let them all fall out. As they spilled to the ground, I realized they weren't paper, but stickers.  _ Lots  _ of stickers. "Woah. Where did you get all these?"

"I took them out of a sticker book. I thought since Sideswipe causes so much mayhem for others, we might want to get him back one day." She picked up a Strawberry Shortcake sticker. The amount of gratitude that swelled in my heart for having a friend like her was inexpressible.

"You're the absolute best!" I gave her another hug before running up the stairs. "One second, I have yours!" I snatched the gift bag in my closet and ran back downstairs. "I put some thought into this."

"You have thoughts?" Katie snarked, dodging my hand meant to slap her. She removed the tissue paper and squealed. "Oh my goodness, thank you!" It was Coding for Dummies handbook. I guessed she would like to continue learning about computers and coding and hacking when she didn't have the base at her disposal. Looks like I guessed right.

"You're very welcome." I smiled, glad to please. She said hi to my mom before leaving to celebrate Christmas with her own family. I continued to try and make contact with Sides and Sunny, but still nothing. I didn't want to, but I was starting to get worried. I texted Katie asking if she could get in contact with Blue, but she also had my experiences of failure in doing so. All throughout dinner, it was starting to gnaw at me. They usually sent at least a smiley face to ensure me they were still alive. But Blue also wasn't responding. Were they all on a mission together? Maybe communications were down over at Diego Garcia. But that was pretty improbable considering how special that base was and communication was of utmost importance to them. I kept checking my phone and kept getting frustrated when I realized only two minutes had passed from the last time I checked. I could barely eat my way through some delicious ham and green bean casserole.

Mom and I watched Christmas movies for the remainder of the night. Aside from the call from my dad that I didn't want to answer, period, my phone gave no interruptions when I desperately wanted it to. I'll admit it, I was being completely stubborn in refusing to let my dad back into my life. I'll be honest about that. Was I actually going to do anything about it? Results inconclusive. Much later, I was staring at my ceiling trading worried texts with Katie when I got a call from an unknown number. I knew the area code.

"Hello?"

"Hey-"

"What the fuck, guys?! It's fucking Christmas and you go radio silent on me?! Bluestreak too! Do you know how many times I thought you might be dead?"

"Jen, princess, chill. Okay? Listen, communication was banned all day today. Something came up and it was lockdown. No one could know, especially decepticons, so we kept all channels clear of any news until everything was sorted out."

"Oh." Now I felt fucking dumb. I  _ knew _ they were doing something important. Why on earth would I be the center of their thoughts when they were fighting a war? God, I'm a dumbass. A dumbass that felt bad, but was relieved they were okay. "What was the thing?"

"Get this, even more arrivals. Looks like Prime's message went pretty fragging far and they just keep rolling in." He sounded excited. But suspiciously excited.

"I feel like you're leaving something out."

"I'm getting to it. So, don't be mad, but I could've called a lot sooner. It's just that one of the new arrivals is an old friend of me and Sunny's. We thought she died like everyone else, but she didn't!" She? The word echoed in my mind. I really needed to hang out with more femmes. I kept forgetting they had feminine cybertronians.

"Oh. Who is she?"

"Our old commander. Ze."


	20. Chapter 20

12 AM. It was officially no longer Christmas. I kicked off my covers and slipped on what I liked to call "ninja shoes". The rubber sole had worn off years ago and while they had absolutely no traction whatsoever, they didn't make a sound when I walked. I sneaked downstairs and wrote a note just in case my mom did wake up, which she wouldn't. She was a heavy sleeper and could sleep anywhere. I quietly closed the front door, holding the knob until it matched up with the hinge before releasing it slowly. Not even a click. I was just now realizing I could've been the kind of kid to sneak out if I wanted to.

Katie was already on my front lawn, shivering in our school's hoodie. They weren't really good at winter temperatures, but damn if they were comfortable on the inside. I waddled over and hugged her, huddling like penguins for warmth as we waited impatiently. Snow was great. I loved snow. Who doesn't love the absence of heat slowly infiltrating your sneakers with the attempt to give you pneumonia. Bright headlights turned on our street and stopped in front of my house. "Bluestreak, please tell me you have seat warmers."

The window rolled down, revealing his smiling holoform. "Would I ever be so rude as to make you sit on cold leather?"

"I mean, I wouldn't put it past you, but I'm guessing the answer you want to hear is "oh of course not"." I shrugged, quickly shuffling to the open door and climbing into the backseat. Heat welcomed me with open and familiar arms, feeling blossoming back into my toes. It wasn't long before Blue drove through a space bridge and we came up on the other side in Diego Garcia. Decked out in red penguin pajama pants and a tyrannaseahorse Rex t-shirt, we exited and started walking towards a large grouping of people. Bluestreak transformed behind us, his heavy footsteps getting closer before delicate, metal fingers picked us up carefully.

"So, what's her name again?" Katie asked, yawning the whole time.

"Ze."

"Like, the letter?"

"I'm guessing? It doesn't sound like her parents thought too much into naming her."

"That's mildly incorrect. See, when we're named, it's not just to have a nice sounding name like you humans do. Like, you were designated as Jennifer because your carrier liked the name Jennifer. Am I right in this?" Bluestreak added himself into the conversation.

"Yeah."

"Well, our names come from our function, our personality, sometimes our appearance. Ironhide is one of the toughest mechs I know, and his name suggests that. Jazz loves music and is an upbeat person."

"So how did Bluestreak come up?" Katie inquired, trying not to fall back asleep. I did drag her along for this, and she was rightfully resistant to wake up.

"I'm blue. Streak is like Smith for humans, its popular to use. Sunstreaker is another example." I perked up on mention of the twins. At least, one of them. I was about to open my mouth to ask more questions before Blue looked ahead and smiled. "Oh, there they are! It's a good thing too, there was some worry there wouldn't be anymore new arrivals but I suppose we're all scattered about amongst the galaxy so the message Optimus sent out would take some time and then there's transportation and all that. See the new femme? That's Ze. The twins are talking to her now. They have lots to catch up on, I've never seen them so excited. Sunny is a quiet excited, but excited. Hey, Sides! I have a special delivery for you!"

All three Cybertronians turned around to look at me. I felt very unnerved very quickly. I had been informed that their eyesight was every medical professions dream. I bet they could tell my heart beat was quickening.

"Is that Jenni with an  _ "i"?"  _ Sideswipe smirked.

"It's with a " _ Y"  _ you asshole!" Listen, words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. The new femme known as Ze looked perturbed, yet calm. It appeared she had a trench coat on, if that was possible, the same color as her. Gunmetal grey with green accents. Strapped around her shoulder was a rifle. She kept it close and despite all the dings and dents, it shined in the light and was kept in good condition. Her weapon of choice and a close friend, I assumed.

"Watch your mouth, we have guests." He wheeled over, plucking me out of Blues hand and into his own. I waved goodbye to Katie who waved back tiredly, curling up lazily in his hand. I turned back to Sunny who nodded his helm in greeting. "So, Jenny, this is Ze. Like I said, she was our old commander eons ago. We got restationed and haven't seen her since. Ze, this is my best friend-"

"Moderate friend."

"My  _ best  _ human friend, Jenny." He flourished a hand towards me. Her neutral, unresponsive face softened into something more welcoming.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Jenny." Her voice was smooth and articulate. She reminded me of that one captain from  _ Treasure Planet,  _ Captain Amelia.

"Oh, uh, Jennifer, Jen, um, Jennifer is my real name, well, not my real name, I mean it's my real name but it's also my full name but Jenny is fine..yeah. Oh, it's nice to meet you too." I wanted to cover my bright, burning face in shame and embarrassment from that gutting I performed on that entire sentence.

"Smooth." Sunstreaker deadpanned with pursed lips. Ze was a merciful femme, a small smile gracing her smooth faceplates.

"I'm sorry, I'm easily intimidated by authority figures." I winced.

"You're alright." She chuckled, shouldering her rifle higher up. "I'm no authority anymore. I'm here simply as a soldier now. I got heavily demoted." The Twins looked at her in alarm.

"You were what?" They both simultaneously exclaimed incredulously. She shrugged carelessly, sighing through her vents.

"Long story short, I punched Sentinel Prime in his big mouth. Given my shiny clean record, something you two wouldn't know anything about, the high council decided to just put me at the bottom instead of dishonorably discharging me outright." There was a pause as they processed this, and when they finally did, Sideswipe smiled with devious intent.

"What you're saying is that we're at the same level, which means you can't brig me for doing stupid slag anymore." I suddenly didn't want to be in his hand. He was turning into the villain and I didn't want to be grouped with him. I had a first impression to repair.

"Really.  _ That's _ what you got from that?" Sunny shook his head in disbelief, a hand on his hip. Ze crossed her arms.

"If you strip my paint, I'll rip your doorwings off." She warned, narrowing her azure optics. I liked her. I liked her a lot. Sides held up one hand in surrender.

"Don't get your panties in a twist." Ze scrunched up her face in confusion.

"What are…panties?" It was then we all realized we had a lot of integration to do. Human 101 all over again. We should put together a manual they all could read. A beginners book for aliens to blend into human society.


	21. Chapter 21

So as it turns out, Ze was a lot of fun, in a reserved type of way. She reminded me of old money, like the Rockefeller bloodline. She sat perfectly straight, one leg crossed over the other to accent her femininity. Her hands were neatly folded over her knees as she spoke, and every word was carefully chosen. Her sentences were smooth, never stammered or paused to think of what to say. I could see why she was a commander once upon a time.

“When I was stripped of rank, I refused to float around the system like you two were forced to. I requested a transfer to Prime’s unit immediately, admittedly pulling a few strings. It wasn’t easy, but here I am.”

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker held onto her every word as she recalled every detail from the time they left her unit to now. 

“So, where’s Scabbard? Did you two get separated?” Sunstreaker asked, optics doing a quick sweep as if he had simply missed this person I knew nothing about. A quick wounded look passed on her face, her body shifting slightly. 

“Scabbard offlined in Tarn.” She quietly replied. The twins looks fell, their shoulders slumping. I was lost, but was picking up pieces. If I used my context clues, I assumed Scabbard was a mech who meant a great deal to the three of them, especially Ze.

“Oh no..” Sideswipe lowly murmured, optics shifting an infinitesimal amount to scan her face. “I’m so sorry...he was a great mech, honest.” 

“I know. It’s okay.” Her voice made it sound like it was definitely not okay and that she had heard this and rehearsed her response too many times. For a moment, I was reminded that war was not glory. It was not kicking ass and taking names and hollering war cries to rally your cause. It sucked ass. It was watching your city crumble and your friends die. For them, it was watching their entire existence as a race slowly ebb away. Sunstreaker’s lips pressed into a thin line, his twitch when he had nothing to say or add. Ze cycled a deep vent. “Apologies, Jenny. Scabbard was my second in command, my right hand mech.” She explained, soft blues flicking over to look at me. I nodded my head, not sure what to say. 

“So you’re here to stay?” Sideswipe asked, branching off from the topic. He was good at distractions like that. Ze blinked, straightening up her spinal strut that was slowly slouching.

“Yes. As long as Prime decides to have me, I am here to stay. Granted, there’s..not much left to go to. Between you and I, our forces are stretched  _ incredibly _ thin.”

“Ah Ah, nope, none of that talk now. You’re just a grunt like the rest of us. A good ol’ jarhead.” Sideswipe smirked. Ze blinked.

“I beg your pardon?” She tilted her helm in slight confusion. “Earth jargon is going to take a while for me to understand, you’re going to have to start off slow.” And that’s where I joined the conversation.

“I can help! I live here, so I know the jargon pretty well.” I smiled brightly, giving her a thumbs up. Her lips lifted in a small smile, a feat that I was proud of. “Oh, let's give her a tour! She doesn’t know the base yet.” I patted Sideswipe’s knee in excitement, hands bouncing off the polished metal. He looked down at me, watching me bounce in my seat for a few more seconds. 

“Yeah, okay.” Was his simple answer, picking me up. I beamed brighter, holding onto his thumb. We all stood up, and even that was infuriatingly smooth for Ze. Not a single creak in her joints and her movements were fluid. She picked up her rifle and shouldered the strap, ready to go wherever.

“So, could you please explain your presence on this military, classified base? It is classified, correct? I was told our presence here on Earth was a secret to the human inhabitants.”

“Yeah, yeah, but she’s a special case. Like, stumbled on a secret kinda thing. And then she got chased by Starscream and now-“

“Starscream  _ still _ functions?”

“Yeah, it’s a fragging tragedy. Anyway,  _ now _ she’s under witness protection, but it really feels like we’re just babysitters.” To that, I took in a deep breath and screamed “excuse me” into his audial. He winced harshly, holding a hand to it his helm. “Okay,  _ ow _ .” I crossed my arms like a child, pouting.

Ze pondered this before accepting the broken explanation with a single nod. “Proceed.” Sideswipe sighed heavily.

“Ze, please, for me.  _ Relax _ . This isn’t Praxus or Iacon, you can slack up a little on...being you. I get it, you’re used to being commander, but the humans here will warm up to you real quick if you would just use improper grammar once in awhile.”

“I do use improper grammar once in a while!” She defended herself, pushing his back as we walked. I grabbed onto his neck cable when I lurched forward. Inertia, gotta love it. “When you’ve been doing this for as long as I have, ‘slacking up’ is not going to be easy.”

“Repeat that sentence, but replace going with gonna.” Ze scrunched up her faceplates with annoyance.

“Slacking up is not  _ gonna _ be easy.” It sounded weird.

“Yeah, you need work.” She shoved him again.

XxXxX

By the end of the tour, I was tired. Very tired. It was early in the morning and I had to go home eventually before my mom found out I was gone. I wrote the note, sure, but that was in case I wasn’t back in time and I was beginning to realize that I wanted my bed really badly. Ze was taken by Optimus Prime, which had been amazing to watch. She was honored to meet him, yes, but Sideswipe had whispered to me that she didn’t much care for his strategies at times. My best guess is that when she asked to be transferred to this unit, she forgot that the commander was Prime himself. Talking about him was easy, looking and talking to him was a whole different ballgame. 

Now, it was just me and the twins. Both utilized their holoforms and I was sandwiched between them in the human rec room. My head leaned against Sunny’s shoulder, his holoform warm and comfy and solid. 

“So what’d ya think? Pretty cool, huh?” Sideswipe grabbed my legs and pulled them onto his lap so he could tie my shoelaces together. What a great guy.

“I like her. She’s like, she’s like this mom figure, like I can see her as the mom friend, ya know? Like, probably not afraid to talk to the manager, I just saw your son bully my son and he needs to die kinda friend.” I sleepily muttered, slowly sliding down Sunny’s shirt until I plopped in his lap. He watched me fall the whole time and didn’t assist in any way, shape or form. He just let it happen.

“I both understand and am completely confused by what you just said.” Sideswipe responded, now being a blatant dick and lacing the laces through the wrong holes and relooping through the same hole and just being an asshole.

“I need to go home, I’m sleepy and my mom needs her daughter to not be missing.” I muffled into Sunny’s stomach. He carefully repositioned my head to look towards the sky. “Sunny, why are you allowing your brother to do this to me?”

“Because you also allowed him to do it and this is the least harmful thing he can be doing right now.”

“He could be doing nothing.”

“This is the least harmful thing he can realistically be doing right now.” Sunny countered, watching his brother commit his sins. I groaned out loud in frustration, but still made no effort to move. It was pointless anyway, he had already gone past the point of return. 

“Sides? Sunny?” A feminine voice called. In the midst of me thinking that the voice belonged to Solarflare, the twins righted me up so I was sitting vertical. I did not like being up straight. I tried to slump down again, but Sunny refused, apparently. I yawned wide and rubbed my eyes. When I reopened them, Solarflare was standing there and the Twins’ holoforms disappeared. 

“Oh, hey Sol. Whatcha need?” Sideswipe asked when they were both fully transformed. I decided I didn’t necessarily care what she wanted, because I curled up on the couch, wiggling and struggling to take my shoes off. After a few grunts of effort, I was able to shove them off my feet, freeing my legs from their prison. My victory, however, was short lived. 

“C’mon, short stuff.” A hand grabbed me gently, lifting me off the couch. Short stuff?

“What kind of nickname is that, literally every human is short compared to you, and that’s like seven billion people.” I grumbled, curling up in his hand and closing my eyes. “Where we goin’?”

“You’re going back to St. Louis.” Sunstreaker answered. I was pretty okay with that.

“Mmkay. Bye, Diego Garcia.” I sleepily waved goodbye to anyone or anything nearby.

“Have a good night, Jenny.” Solarflare politely responded.

“Say bye to Ze for me.” I called out before we went through a ring of blue and white energy back to St. Louis.


	22. Chapter 22

The base was a bit of a buzz, considering New Year's Eve was tomorrow. Strange how quickly it went from Christmas to a new year. None of the Autobots understood the holiday and that was okay. Their years went by unnoticed and for us, they were just so short when compared to their lifespan. 

Because of the recent Christmas party, there wasn’t going to be a New Years party. At least, not an official one. I had overheard that there would definitely be alcohol being ingested tomorrow. Whether that was an infraction was another conversation entirely. For now, I was on the hunt for Ze.

The Twins were preoccupied with training SolarFlare, so I had wandered around base asking if anyone had seen the new arrival. Eventually, a tip from Ironhide led me to the shooting range.

The shooting range wasn’t that special. There was only so much the US military could spend for accommodations, and we simply didn’t have any targets strong enough to resist plasma cannons in an indoor facility. Instead, they opted for an outdoor range with as many disposable dummies and targets as the budget could manage. It was a humid, sweaty day and my shoes were caked with dust from the gravel and loose sand they crunched on. Rounding the corner of the building that hid the range from plain sight, I had the sudden thought that maybe I looked kinda gross and sweaty before seeing a long legged femme right in front of me. She was lying down on her belly, trench coat beneath her to protect her armor from a dust bath. She was steadily looking through her rifle, carefully lining up her shot. A couple hundred yards in front of her stood three sandbags in a line with a bullseye crudely taped on them.

I watched as she finalized her position and drew in a sharp vent before squeezing off a round. It went through all three bags, completely ripping them open and spilling sand across the ground. She slowly released the vent she had held. “How can I help you?” She called out, sitting up and reloading. It took a second to realize she was talking to me.

“Oh! Uh, I don’t need help with anything, I was just watching.” She took her time before finishing and placing her rifle in her lap, turning her helm towards me. 

“Really? This range is relatively secluded from the rest of the base to offset the distractions our weapons would make. This building behind us is a storage unit if I’m correct, one that doesn’t garner a lot of foot traffic. My question then is, how does someone like you wander over here and find yourself just watching someone else fire a gun?” 

Well damn. She got me. I could see a small smile on her lips.

“The Twins are busy, so I thought I’d look for you to see if you’re adjusting well.” I started walking towards her and could hear her lowly chuckle. “Did I say something?”

“No. And yes.” She shook her head mirthfully, those soft optics carefully looking down at me. “It’s not the first time a human has asked me that question. Your species is very focused on hospitality, it’s not something I’m very used to. To answer your question, yes, I am adjusting well. Apologies, but I find it hard to believe you came all this way to only ask me that.”

“Well, no. You actually touched on something that I’m going to segue into. My species can be a very confusing one to aliens and I would like to teach you some things to intergrate you smoothly into our culture.” She simply stared at me, saying nothing. Once, I was so nervous about giving a speech, that I excused myself beforehand and threw up in a trash can outside of class. I was getting that same feeling again. “See, the faster you understand our culture, then that means you’ll understand and get along with humans better, and that equals to a better team cohesion and bond which would then also equate to more successful missions.” I hoped my hand gestures to flourish my transitions between points was a real wow factor with her. She blinked, casting her gaze over to the decimated dummies whose sand innards had slowed their spill to a trickle of grains. 

“Alright.” She softly agreed, smoothly rising up to her feet and dusting off any spare particles of dirt that might’ve strayed onto her plating. She picked up her trench coat and let it hang loose before snapping it, flicking off the residue. To my surprise, she put it on. It was hot. 

“You gonna be okay with that on? I mean, I know you have fans and stuff, but it’s still hot out and I just want to make sure you’re..okay.” The longer I went on, the more her gaze made me flush with embarrassment and feel dumb. She quipped me with another small smile. 

“I’ll be fine. I’d be more concerned about yourself, your kind is known to dehydrate very fast in weather like this.” She lowered her hand for me to climb on, which I tentatively did. 

“I mean, yeah. But there’s water nearby if I need it. Y’know, I’d always imagined you’d kinda be more hesitant about letting humans hitch a ride, like Sunny. Human oils and such rubbing off on your armor.” The look she gave me sent the atmosphere to a chilly 45 degrees. 

“Did Sideswipe say this to you? Was this his idea he planted?” I was afraid Sideswipe would die if I didn’t answer correctly.

“No, Sideswipe is innocent. It’s just the vibe you give off. Like, my first impressions and such. I hope that wasn’t mean, was that mean? Did, Did I come off as rude just now. I am so, so sorry if I did.” Ze shook her head to cut me off.

“No, you’re alright. It was my own overreaction.” She said nothing more and I waited for her to explain. I glanced down at the soldiers milling about and back to her. 

“Care to elaborate? Or is that a sensitive topic?” Ze kept her face perfectly neutral, but sucked in a deep sigh. The walk back to base was cut by thrice the time it took me as Ze ducked into the main hangar. 

“I suppose it’s old news at this point. When I was their commander, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker discovered that I was apart of what you would call upper class before the war.” 

If she was expecting a reaction, she didn’t get one. “I feel like I’m missing a puzzle piece. Is that like, a big deal or…?” She snorted in disbelieving humor. 

“Do you know how this war even started?” Ze asked, glancing at me like that was the answer. I shook my head no. She stopped dead in the hallway, bringing me to eye level. “You mean to tell me that you’ve never been informed on the history of the war?” 

I shook my head again. “To be completely honest, I’m not sure if it was explained to anyone. All we know is that decepticons are the bad guys and you guys are the good guys, Megatron wants tyranny and Optimus believes freedom is for everyone. Although, with the way you’re looking at me, I’m having this weird thought that maybe that’s not the whole story.” Ze picked up her pace.

“Brace yourself, Jennifer. You’re about to endure a crash course on the history of Cybertron.” Wait, what?

“Wait, what?” We had entered the Rec Room and she walked straight towards the couch. For a minute, she looked unsure, looking at the couch and then me.

“You’re just so small.” She murmured to herself before placing me on the rim of the backrest. Ze then lounged out, stretching her legs across the cushions and making it impossible for anyone else to sit. It looked like a power move to me. “It all happened at the end of the Golden Age.” 

**XxXxX**

It took hours. Literal hours. Like, multiple series of comic books worth of hours to explain it all in the simplest terms that she could use. It was so long, we took a break for energon and food. By the end of it, I had my hands rubbing my forehead to try and digest the full course meal of information forced down my throat.

“So...to answer my question. The reason it’s a big deal that you’re upper class is because some people didn’t like the upper class because of the social caste system that was one of the triggers of the civil war.” 

“In a watered down version, yes. As time went on, the class I belonged to simply became synonymous with the Tower Nobles or it was assumed we all had the attitude of every flier in Vos. Arrogant, brash, a superiority complex the size of metroplex.” She spoke between nursing her cube of energon.

“You don’t sound bitter at all.” She made a small noise behind the glass, swallowing. 

“Is that sarcasm? You humans do it very well.” If that was a compliment, I would take it. She was passionate the whole time she spoke, I’d give her that. The war was awful, that was something she had hammered into me multiple times. It was impressive to me that she somehow still had a fire after all these years of fighting.

“So like, how rich are you?” She nearly choked.

“That is something that I will not divulge to anyone. There’s still resentment depending on you talk to. The Twins for example are of Kaon descent, a product of a system that failed them and many others. Plenty of people looked down on them for being gladiators, but never took into account that they had no choice. Plenty of nobles considered that to be a barbaric sport when on camera, but behind the scenes loved to watch it. Mining companies were so completely out of code, resulting in too many wrongful deaths that were covered up by the elite who owned those companies. That kind of news never made it into the processors of the upper rings, it just went into one audial and out the other.”

“Let me cut you off real quick because this is the second conversation we’ve had. Are you sure I’m the person to talk to about this?”

“You’re a blank slate. You have no prior assumptions about me. You know nothing of my past or my planets past, until now. It’s much easier to talk with someone who won’t immediately judge you.” She downed the rest of her drink. “Your species is giving refuge to mine. The least I can do is explain why.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Blue eyes scanned me over again before continuing. 

“Sideswipe hung it over my head, and while I’m sure he did it as a joke as he usually does, it made it seem like it was something to be ashamed of. It’s something I don’t advertise.” That made sense. Something still bugged me.

“Is it?”

“Is what what?”

“It is something to be ashamed of?” She paused, looking away and staring towards the wall. Her fingers idly tapped on her cube. 

“I’m not sure.” She admitted. “War is profitable. I was handed opportunities while others had theirs completely erased. Everything was hush hush when I was growing up. Unrest building, protests, ethical disagreements, everyone around me pushed it under the rug. I knew a handful of people who made credits off of it. I could’ve done more.”

“Okay, but you joined the Autobots. I know everything you just told me, but decepticons tried and gave me a dislocated shoulder within five minutes. I’ve known you guys for like, about two months and I think you’re great. We all have shit we’re not proud of, but we grow up. I think just being able to look back and say “I could’ve done more” says that you’ve evolved for the good. I dunno, just my own opinion I guess.” I shrugged, looking down at my hands and playing with my fingers. Was that weird to say? Was it too soon to start getting deep? It was too soon, wasn’t it? We were barely friends, maybe I shouldn’t be giving advice like that. She probably didn’t even want to talk about this. It wasn’t a secret, but it was something she said she didn’t like to tell people so maybe it was best to stop while I was ahead.

“You have a point.” Excuse me? I looked up to see another smile, except this one wasn’t small. I blushed.

“Just something off the top of my head, it’s no biggie.” Ze hummed, watching me brush it off.

“Curious, your species. Come, tell me about the history of your planet.” She cushioned her cheek into her hand. I brightened up, ecstatic that we could move away from the previous topic. It was getting too real, too dark. Too uneasy. I didn’t want to be that human that made Ze feel weird about her past.

“So, Earth. It all started 4.5 billion years ago.”


	23. Chapter 23

Neither of us had realized that it had gotten so late or so dark. At least, I hadn’t realized because I didn’t have an internal chronometer. Talking to Ze was just so easy. Not nearly as intimidating as it had been before. She was genuinely funny when she wanted to be and vastly curious about everything I had to say. She had an abundance of questions and I was only happy to answer all of them the best I could.

“So, this President Nixon of yours, he reminds me of this mech I know. One of, if not the most paranoid people you’d ever encounter. He worked mostly in security and damn good at his job, but there was this breach once and he almost convinced the lieutenant in charge to have everyone scanned for viruses. Virus scans aren’t pleasant, they scour deep into the protoform.”

“Is it like looking for lice? Lice are these little parasitic bugs that live in your hair and feed off of the blood of mammals. You put this conditioner stuff in your hair and take a very thin comb and comb through all of your hair to get the lice out. I had lice once because I shared a hat with Andrew Wales in fifth grade and it was  _ awful _ .”

“That may be the closest equivalent, yes. But to get back on topic, he resigned before he could be impeached? That brings up a story about this politician my family was regrettably friends with, his designation was Poisonpen and-“ She was cut off by an abrupt yell.

“Hey! Do you ever check your fragging phone?” Sideswipe slowly skated into the room, hands thrown up in exasperation to silently demand “what the hell?”. I reached around to my back pocket to click the shutter on my phone and promptly choked. My phone was always on silent and there were at least a dozen calls from him, one of them from Sunny, one of them from Bluestreak, and too many text messages to read them all. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! And  _ you!-“  _ Sideswipe pointed at Ze with an accusatory finger. She merely raised an articulate eye ridge. “I asked if you had seen her and you said no! What do you call this?”

Ze looked at me before looking back at Sideswipe. “I call it blatantly lying to you, but in my defense, we were talking and whatever it is you want with her, I’m certain it would’ve disrupted our chat.” I sucked my lips into a flat line to keep from smiling.  _ She liked talking to me _ . 

“Yes, it would’ve. And now, I don’t feel bad about it. Jenny has to go home, Lennox’s orders.” 

“Why?” I whined. “I’m making new friends, I don’t wanna leave yet.”

Sideswipe shrugged, gently ushering me onto his hand. “Special base security protocol stuff. All you need to know is that it’s above your pay grade.”

“I’m not paid.”

“It’s above your clearance.” Yeah, that was probably true. Ze vented softly, standing up and strapping her rifle to her back. 

“That means I should go speak with Optimus. There are a few housekeeping items that have yet to be sorted.” She didn’t look enthusiastic about any of it. Optics that I will continue to describe as soft flicked down to me. Ze smiled, the corners of her optics creasing in mirth. “I expect to be fully caught up on our next meeting.” She gave a small bow of her head. It gave me an idea.

“What about tomorrow? Tomorrow’s the New Years party.” I shrugged in suggestion. Sideswipe chuckled, the strong vibrations resonating through my legs. 

“It sure is, isn’t it?” I didn’t have to turn around to see that glint in his optics. 

“You’re planning something.” It was more statement than anything else.

“Don’t you worry about it.” He said, waving a hand to brush it off. I was worried about it.

“Lennox will be so busy tomorrow that I’m sure I could sneak in.” I stated. Ze immediately shook her head. 

“I’m not going to disobey direct orders. If you’re not supposed to be here, then I’ll see to it that you’re not.” Ze shot me down as I deflated, sputtering disbelieving sounds. 

“But! But we- I just-“

“However,” She followed up. “I have heard that Bluestreak is fond of another human whom you are also close to. And as it so happens, I expect I’ll be busy tomorrow and won’t be partaking completely in the festivities. I would try getting him to turn a blind optic instead, I’m sure he’d oblige both of you. Farewell for now.” She smoothly turned on her heel and walked away down the hall towards Prime’s office. I looked up at Sideswipe and beamed, hugging myself around his thumb. 

“I think she likes me.” I cooed, letting the smooth, warm plating seep its heat into my skin. The AC was blasting and without a jacket, it had gotten chilly over the past hours. 

“Which is  _ weird _ , because it took us a really long time to even be considered friends.” Sideswipe rose an eyeridge at me as he slowly skated out of the room and towards the main hangar. “This is soft Ze you’re seeing. Back when she was a commander?” I felt him shiver. 

“Were you the type to act out?” I asked.

“I think you can answer that question yourself. She was no nonsense and I liked a little bit of nonsense here and there. I once broke into her office, because who doesn’t want to know your commanding officer’s secret? I found this bottle of highgrade, real classy stuff. She caught me sharing it with some of the weapon specialists and there was no getting out of it, I had the empty bottle in my hand.”

“What’d she do?”

“She sent me to the scrapyard and back.” He grinned sheepishly, shaking his helm. “I used to joke that those legs went on for  _ days _ but a couple roundhouse’s and from then on my spinal strut was straight if I heard her coming down the hall.” I took this all in and saw how, despite the violent memory, he seemed so genuinely nostalgic. Happy. 

“Sent to the scrapyard means she kicked your ass, right?” I asked. Sideswipe looked down at me.

“You’re trying to make me say it, but yes.”

“So then, hold on,” I readjusted, lounging against his cupped fingers. “If she hated you, how’d you get to be friends?” I curiously questioned, wanting to piece together a rough timeline.

“She never hated me. She actually told me that. No, Ze was just that kind of commander. She was different than what Sunny and I had ever had before. Y’know, usually it’d be brig time or more patrol or another disciplinary action filed. We thought we knew how to navigate the system, more or less, but then Ze. She was the first person to look us in the optics and ask why we did what we did. Everyone always assumed I was just a troublemaker, I’m from Kaon, I’m built like that. Maybe that has some truth to it. But, I dunno, her approach to dealing with us just  _ worked _ . Any femme that can get Sunny to tap is someone I’m willing to follow into a spray of plasma rounds. I think the main thing was that she was never expecting us to cause trouble. She never assumed that anything that went wrong had anything to do with me or Sunny. That was refreshing, having that chance to defend yourself.” Soon enough, we were approaching the main hangar and Sideswipe blinked. “Didn’t expect to spill my spark like that, but yeah. She can hang with the worst of mechs and handle herself just fine, so she fits with us just fine.”

“You really like her.” I quietly stated, watching his face. It widened with surprise.

“Well, yeah, but don’t get me wrong, never like  _ that _ . To use human words, she’s more of a mom figure than anything else.”

“A mom who has legs for days?” I teased, grinning widely. Sideswipe gave a short laugh.

“Okay, you are not telling her I said that. Just because I’m not ordering from the menu doesn’t mean I’m not gonna look at it.” I threw my head back and laughed, clapping. 

“Good human verbage, you’re getting really good at it.” I complimented. Sideswipe smiled, before winking at me.

“I aim to impress.” I felt a knot in my stomach and was suddenly really warm. Damn this summer heat. 


End file.
